Research

I recently was shown a section of the Alexander Payne film Election (1999) and feel that it does a really good job of introducing characters and quickly creating empathy or dislike for characters. One thing I picked up on which I would like to possibly try in the edit of our film is the use of freeze frame and voice over at around 25 seconds into the below clip. The use of voice over gets you on Matthew Broderick's character's side immediately because he is addressing you directly, while the performance and writing of the voice over helps you quickly understand the character's attitude towards the character shown on screen in the freeze frame, but the main thing I hadn't seen before was the fact that the freeze frame is on Reese Witherspoon when she is pulling a very unflattering face. This, in one frame, helps establish the desired amount of dislike for her character and also shows that she is not as perfect as you have been lead to believe by the earlier few minutes of the film.