Smash Cut Method in Do the Right Thing

In order to jar the audience with an unexpected change in image or/and sound the smash cut is used as in editing technique in movies. There is one scene in the movie Do the Right Thing where a smash cut is used. The smash cut is created at the beginning of the movie after the titles are being presented, the song “Fight the Power” by the band “Public enemy” is being played in the background while titles are coming up, and a girl is dancing. Suddenly, there is a visual and an audio smash cut to introduce Samuel L. Jackson’s character: the visual smash cut is created by going from the girl dancing, with music background, to a close up of a clock. The audio smash cut is created when the song by “Public enemy” is finishing and the alarm clock goes off, while the camera is focusing the clock, Samuel L. Jackson character’s mouth, and a microphone.

The smash cut’s purpose is to start the movie, and to introduce the place where all the actions are going to occur. This is why the smash cut uses an alarm clock, to symbolize the start of something, in this case the movie. The first lines of the character who was introduced by the smash cut are: “wake up, wake up, wake up.” Then the camera shows a wider image and we are introduce to the neighborhood where the movie will take place.

Juan L.