After finding a statistic on IMDB that said where as an average film will contain 600 to 700 cuts where as Requiem For a Dream contains over 2,000, I watched the opening sequence to see what this meant in terms of its aethietic. It was obvious right away that what was quoted on IMDB must hold some truth as not only were there interesting elements of split screen, resulting in twice as many cuts per second (average), but many of the scene's, especially ones containing Burstyn's character contain very quick cuts.
One scene in particular stands out, when Sara Goldfarb, Burstyn's character, goes to sit out in front of her building with the other elderly residents. In production I imagine Aronofsky ran the scene a number of times, filming each of the old women so that in post he could very quickly cut between them. The result is a cut that reflects the way in which old women, as a stereotype, talk to one another. That is they all have something to say and they say it very quickly. Aside from creating characterisation, it could also be a fore-shadowing for the speed addiction that she's about to obtain.
Aside from the picture editing the sound editing in this film is used to intensify elements of the film to such an extent it becomes surreal. A very quick example of this in the scene above is the sizzling sound, reminiscent of the sound of food in a frying pan, layered on top of the shot of the sun.
The use of split screen is also worth exploring. When it's used, it's used to depict different action within the same scene, first seen in the first scene when Burstyn locks her self in a bathroom while her son, played by Jared Leto, steals the TV. The way it's used enables the audience to simultaneously watch the thieving son and the emotional distress its causing his mother despite the fact they are separated by a closed door. The other notable moment occurs when Leto and Connelly are sharing an intimate moment, again, the split enables the capture of emotion, this time in the form of each others hands running over each others skin.
Another interesting technique used are the quick montages when drugs are being taken. The way in which the action is represented lacks emotion and de-humanises the act, what I mean by this is that there is little or no sense of excitement or joy from taking the drugs, all the audience see's is the aftermath once the characters are already high. Even the dialogue before taking drugs suggests the same, i.e "who wants to waste some time" - Connelly, or "it's just business" - Wayans. The images used further connote this as the repercussions are often represented by scientific 'cause and effect' type imagery. I.e. eyes dilating and cells reacting to the drug. The sound design, similar to the sizzling sun, is very exaggerated during these sequences. This helps the impact of the cuts as with every cut comes an obvious audible change.
Lastly, time lapse is used to good effect in the film to represent the effects of drugs. The most famous being the sideways tracking shot in which Burstyn apparently spent over two hours cleaning the her flat to then decide she wasn't happy with her performance. Aside from the obvious speeding up of the footage, a clock with its hands speeding round has been layered over the top that then fades away to emphasis the passing of long periods of time.
One scene in particular stands out, when Sara Goldfarb, Burstyn's character, goes to sit out in front of her building with the other elderly residents. In production I imagine Aronofsky ran the scene a number of times, filming each of the old women so that in post he could very quickly cut between them. The result is a cut that reflects the way in which old women, as a stereotype, talk to one another. That is they all have something to say and they say it very quickly. Aside from creating characterisation, it could also be a fore-shadowing for the speed addiction that she's about to obtain.
Aside from the picture editing the sound editing in this film is used to intensify elements of the film to such an extent it becomes surreal. A very quick example of this in the scene above is the sizzling sound, reminiscent of the sound of food in a frying pan, layered on top of the shot of the sun.
The use of split screen is also worth exploring. When it's used, it's used to depict different action within the same scene, first seen in the first scene when Burstyn locks her self in a bathroom while her son, played by Jared Leto, steals the TV. The way it's used enables the audience to simultaneously watch the thieving son and the emotional distress its causing his mother despite the fact they are separated by a closed door. The other notable moment occurs when Leto and Connelly are sharing an intimate moment, again, the split enables the capture of emotion, this time in the form of each others hands running over each others skin.
As can be seen in the screen grabs, some of the shots are of actions that can't be happening at the same time as the conversation is taking place. In these instances, such as the finger tips touching the lips, the images have been used to increase the intimacy of the scene in a surreal way.
Another interesting technique used are the quick montages when drugs are being taken. The way in which the action is represented lacks emotion and de-humanises the act, what I mean by this is that there is little or no sense of excitement or joy from taking the drugs, all the audience see's is the aftermath once the characters are already high. Even the dialogue before taking drugs suggests the same, i.e "who wants to waste some time" - Connelly, or "it's just business" - Wayans. The images used further connote this as the repercussions are often represented by scientific 'cause and effect' type imagery. I.e. eyes dilating and cells reacting to the drug. The sound design, similar to the sizzling sun, is very exaggerated during these sequences. This helps the impact of the cuts as with every cut comes an obvious audible change.
Lastly, time lapse is used to good effect in the film to represent the effects of drugs. The most famous being the sideways tracking shot in which Burstyn apparently spent over two hours cleaning the her flat to then decide she wasn't happy with her performance. Aside from the obvious speeding up of the footage, a clock with its hands speeding round has been layered over the top that then fades away to emphasis the passing of long periods of time.
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