Major Project - Pacing/Gear Changes

   Gear Change in a scene is where the editor edits the speed of a scene at a certain point to give of a specific effect to a scene. This can be done by a simple sudden change of speed in a scene from slow to fast or vice versa, or gradually doing it in stages or going back and forth, like the fight scenes in '300'. An appropriate use for a gear change is for when big action suddenly happens on screen, but the main use for one is when something changes in general. For example, If there is a calm scene with not a lot going on it will be at a slow speed, but if something changes such as movement occurring then a gear change would be good to use. From researching gear changes, I have learned there must be a lot of planning before you start creating a gear change such as what is the purpose of the change? At what speed should the change occur? amongst other factors. 

   Here's what a gear change might look like on a timeline. The blue clips are indicative of the scene's original pacing, which is a bit slower, and the orange clips show the pacing after the gear change has occurred. Lastly, in order to emphasize the moment in which the dramatic shift in tempo happens, the pink clips are even slower. This is a technique that should be used in editing a film to intentionally highlight an important change in your characters, their journey, or their emotional state. 

   I am looking into the use of a gear change for the final scene in 'Roadman' where a fight breaks out between Jimmy and Jase. The use of the gear change will help build up suspense for the action to happen and for it to be more interesting to the audience.