Whiplash (2014)

Whiplash

    Whiplash was written and directed by Damien Chazelle, and released in 2014. The film is about Andrew (played by Miles Teller), a drummer at a conservatory, and his emotionally and physically abusive teacher, Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). The film can be considered unique for how the drumbeats played by Andrew correspond to the editing of the film and the music. A few things I would like to talk about are the compression montage during the competition between drummers, the timing of the cuts and the focus on specific instruments, and the choice to not cut during a portion of the final standoff between Andrew and Fletcher.
    Towards the middle of the film, Andrew finds himself in competition with two other drummers for the part of being the main drummer in the upcoming competition. Whiplash chooses to use a very brief montage to show how much time has passed, rather than have us sit through the entire process. It cuts between the drummers and Fletcher, the clock, and the rest of the band. I thought it was interesting that the camera seemed to be handheld during the scenes shots where we were in the room with the drummers and Fletcher, adding the unstable feeling brought on by Fletcher’s hair-trigger rage, but remained stable during shots from outside the room with the rest of the students. From the outside we can still hear everything going on inside the room, but like the students, we’re forced to imagine what is causing the sound instead of seeing it ourselves, or tune it out.
    Second, during the final performance, a majority of the cuts seem to emphasize the music. Short, sharp cuts emphasize the beat of the music, notes that are a bit more staccato, and notes that are more accented or individual. Longer cuts, usually panning across a section of the band, emphasize builds in the music. It’s also interesting to note that when the camera is focused on one specific instrument, be it a singular player or a particular group, that instrument sounds louder than all the rest. Another thing is that the speed of the camera’s movement doesn’t necessarily sync with the tempo of the song. For example, though the song remains relatively fast, there are several points where the camera’s movements are slower. It does seem to coincide with whenever the music is less loud and in-your-face intense, and instead is preparing to build back up again.
    Lastly, also during the final performance, there is a point where the camera keeps switching between Andrew and Fletcher, but there are no cuts. The camera pans back and forth, almost like a person turning their head to look at one, and then the other. It makes the audience feel as though Andrew and Fletcher are fighting for the spotlight— Andrew with his drumming, Fletcher with his control over the band. They seem just slightly out of sync, opposing forces, until the camera cuts to view the whole stage and they come together again, no longer fighting.
    Whiplash has a lot of creativity and artistry behind its editing, and it serves to influence the viewer’s feelings. The shorter cuts, paired with the faster camera movement and the shakiness of handheld camera, induce more anxiety and restlessness. The longer and slower shots build tension and anticipation, waiting for the next big thing, like you’re waiting for the beat drop in a song. Some examples of this are found in the brief montage of the drumming competition, the timing of cuts during the final performance, and the choice to let the camera pan between Andrew and Fletcher, rather than cut between them.