ABSTRACT
Like a patient hooked up to a cardiac monitor, a film can display an energetic and lively pace or it can flat-
line. When that happens, the momentum dies and the rhythm falters. The film becomes a chore to watch.
Through the use of shot selection, length, and juxtaposition, the editor pumps life back into the film. The
power of rhythm and pace, that visual music that resonates on a deeply primal level, exerts such enormous
influence that it is sometimes possible to overcome lapses in other areas, including story, through the crea-
tive and determined application of these qualities.
