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Dramatically, however, the two transitions would be somewhat different. Joining two scenes by means of a dissolve introduces a discontinuity ; it creates the impression that one scene has finished and another is beginning. If the scenes are linked by a cut in the way we previously suggested, this break in the action does not become apparent. The sequence appears to be continuous and the dramatic flow is not interrupted. It is of course not possible to say which of the two methods is preferable in the case we have quoted without taking into account which of the two possible dramatic effects is more suitable to the story. But it is worth noting that the automatic use of dissolves to bridge any two sequences, which is so common in contemporary films, often leads to inappropriate continuity effects. The dramatic pause which is implied by a dissolve is by no means always desirable when one scene happens to be giving way to another.
This alternative method of joining sequences by a dramatically motivated cut is well illustrated by the flash-backs in David Lean's The Passionate Friends. On two occasions (one is discussed on p. 27 1 ) he uses a cut to take the action into and later out of flash-back. This gives the impression that the scene in the flash-back forms a dramatically continuous part of a longer sequence ; isolating the content of the flash-back through two dissolves would merely have broken up this sense of continuous development.
The choice between making a transition through a dissolve or a cut is further subject to the requirements of pace. In the film The World and his Wife (in U.S.A., State of the Union), for instance, Frank Capra (said to supervise closely the editing of his films) frequently makes his scene transitions by cuts. On several occasions he cuts away from an uproarious slapstick sequence just after the crowning joke has been made. While the spectator is still laughing, he is already plunged — through a straight cut — into the next sequence. The impression created is one of tremendous pace : the spectator's interest is never allowed to flag for a moment.
Dissolves can sometimes be used for a more positive purpose than we have described. It is sometimes possible to make the few moments in which the two images are left on the screen together hold a specific dramatic significance. The dissolve into flash-back in the passage we have quoted from Citizen Kane (see p. 115) in which the image of Leyland, knowingly shaking his head, is replaced by images of Kane and his wife, carries an obvious dramatic inference.
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