Parallel Editing

Parallel Editing - an editing technique that allows two or more simultaneous sets of action to unfold within a single film sequence. It can be used to create tension, can show multiple points of view and can create dramatic irony when the characters are unaware of events unfolding away from the main action.

The ending of The Godfather (Franci Ford Coppola, 1972) is perhaps one of the best and most famous examples. Whilst Mafia don Michael Corleone is made godfather of his nephew, several of his henchmen dispatch rival gangsters. Coppola brilliantly contrasts the sacred act of renouncing God during baptism with Michael's bloody instructions being carried out.

Parallel editing is used extensively in action films, Die Hard (John McTeirnan, 1988) and Con Air (Simon West, 1997) being prime examples. However, a fantastic example of it being used to create tension is seen in The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991).




One of the best pieces of editing around is the famous car chase from The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971). Not only is it a great example of parallel editing as the action switches between a car and a train, but it also uses many other editing techniques. POV shots are used as Gene Hackman's Doyle races through the busy streets of New York, but also shot/reverse shot and eyeline matches as he attempts to avoid other cars and pedestrians, including a lady with a pushchair. Action matches are used for the car chase and the train speeding along the tracks and there is also the odd match cut between the tracks and the road.