ABSTRACT
In the last chapter we explored the characteristics of the MTV style in editing. Whereas linear narratives proceed by focusing a viewer’s identification with a main character, the MTV approach proceeds using a less specific focus. Consequently, pace, subjectivity, and the close-up are not used to build an identification with the main character. In the MTV style, they are used to generate a less specific intensity. Pace and subjectivity in general are not used to move us up a dramatic arc; instead, they are used to intensify in effect a set piece that may or may not contribute to a dramatic arc. The MTV style is more clearly understood if the developmental narrative structure of the linear narrative is set aside, and if instead the narrative is seen as a series of set pieces that each embody a dramatic arc of their own. You might even consider the set pieces to be the equivalent of short films strung together by a loose shaping device. The most important point is that the editing implications of the MTV style shifts the focus from character and the structure of the narrative as a whole to the set piece itself. In a sense, the MTV style subverts the linear experience and elevates the scene over a sequence, an Act, or indeed the whole film.
