Editing

This is the scene of the song El Tango de Roxanne from the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge. In this scene, we see three scenarios that are happening at the same time as each other and are in some way connected with each other.

The transitions of this scene are all straight cuts which could symbolise the intensity and severity of the relationship between Satine and the Duke. It also makes the scene more engaging for the audience because the cuts are so sudden, especially when the pace quickens so more is happening for the audience to pay attention to. Furthermore, because these cuts are so frequent, the audience hardly notices them so the chronology of each scenario in the song becomes easier to follow because we understand that they are happening simultaneously.

It could be argued that this scene has used continuity editing even though the transitions go from one scenario to another but when it goes back to the scene it started off with, it follows on from the first bit we saw - for example, the three scenarios in the scene are Satine and the Duke's night together in the Duke's mansion, the narcoleptic Argentinian singing and teaching the Tango de Roxanne to the Moulin Rouge dancers, and Christian singing/thinking about how the Duke is going to mistreat Satine. 

The first scene shows Christian starting to walk through the Moulin Rouge; the dance then begins and we see Satine and the Duke in his mansion. We then cut back to the dance which has continued from where we last saw it and we then see Christian continue to walk through the club and from then on we continue to see the chronological events of each scenario before eventually Christian has walked out of the Moulin Rouge and ends up underneath the Duke's balcony where the Duke and Satine are now standing together. We then stop seeing the dance for a while, and then it returns when the Duke becomes aggressive with Satine and the sequence of the scenarios continues until the very end of the song.

In terms of other aspects of media language, the sound of the dancers' bodies moving e.g. their feet hitting the floor really emphasises the cuts between the scenes which helps maintain the audience's attention. Also, most of the cuts happen in time with the music which also gives the whole scene more fluidity.

The pace of this clip changes throughout depending on how the narrative progresses. At the beginning of the scene the pace is relatively quick during the tango scenes but slows down slightly each time we return to the Duke and Satine and I think the intention behind this was to build up excitement and intensity during the tango scenes and then to build up tension during the slower paced scenes involving Satine and the Duke, preparing the audience for the climatic events towards the end which a slow paced sequence could foreshadow. The pace then continues to quicken when Christian starts singing and it cuts very quickly through each scenario which could signify his feelings of panic and despair that Satine is supposed to be sleeping with the Duke tonight.

At 2:23 we return to Satine and the Duke and the pace slows down as the Duke begins talking and this change of pace sustains the tension built up between them both and makes the audience wonder what's going to happen as the scene develops. The pace remains slow until 3:07 when the singing resumes which quickens the pace again.

Then, when Christian reaches the Duke's balcony, the pace slows right down again which could highlight the hopelessness Christian and Satine feel that they can't be with each other tonight and that Satine has to spend the night with the Duke. Then, as the Duke's anger grows, we notice the pace begin to quicken again and we know that we are reaching the climax of the scene which leaves the audience fixated, eager to see the result of his rage. As the singing and dancing resumes, with as much ferocity as it left off with, the pace increases to the fastest it has been throughout the whole scene and this reflects how the intensity of each scenario has peaked e.g. the Duke is attempting to rape Satine, Christian is beside himself with despair and the tango has escalated and become much more sensual and dramatic.

There are many moments of juxtaposition in this scene. I think the most noticeable one is probably when Christian is under the balcony and there are numerous eyeline matches between him and Satine, reiterating their love for each other. Furthermore, a lot of the dancing in the tango is naturally very sensual, and these scenes are often followed by Satine and the Duke and the intention behind this could have been to signify that the relationship between Satine and the Duke is purely sexual and the intensity of some of the dancing could be a way of foreshadowing the aggression the Duke takes out on Satine.