Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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and is a useful point of introduction for the analysis of the use of sound and editing
in death sequences to indicate the perspective of an aggressor.
The shots leading up to and including Samantha’s death are comparatively
long, with a steady, deliberate editing pace. After her perspective is initially
established through Samantha’s eye/camera shot approaching the raft, the image cuts
to an extreme long shot of her climbing into the raft and lying down on her stomach.
The score plays quiet, suspenseful music, and the sounds of her body against the
water as she swims and leaps into the raft are very hushed and distant. The shot
holds long enough for her to settle into the raft, squirming to get comfortable and
gradually relaxing. With the shot still holding, the sound of a twig snapping and
leaves rustling is heard slightly louder than her own movements, and she calls,
“Paul! I know you’re out there!” Despite projecting her voice for Paul’s benefit, her
voice sounds far away from the spectator. The shot then cuts to a close up of her
looking out over the lake, the music still soft, but she then calls for Paul again, this
time, her voice louder and clearer. After a long pause, she splashes the water with
her hand and says “Screw you, Paul.” This statement along with the splash retains
the volume of her previous line in the shot. She settles back onto the raft, and after a
few moments, the sudden sound of movement in the water along with a sting from
the score accompany a sudden cut to a full shot of Jason leaping out of the water
beside Samantha in the raft and placing his hand on her back. At the moment he
touches her, she screams, with the music on the score loud and tense, and there is a
cut to a medium shot of Samantha, her head lying screen left, Jason’s hand on her
shoulder in the middle of the frame. The music and her scream are sustained, but
there is a ripping and a wet slicing sound, just before a spearhead emerges from
Samantha’s lower back at the right of the frame. This shot remains steady, and holds