Parallel Editing- Emily Mortensen

Parallel editing or "cross cutting" is when two stories are told simultaneously and the two scenes are intercut to establish continuity.  This technique is usually used when something is happening at the same time but in different locations. Cross cutting became known after Edwin S. Porter began to experiment with this technique in The Great Train Robbery (1903). After, many other filmmakers in the industry took the idea and used parallel editing to its full potential. This type of editing adds suspense to the scene because in the end the two come together for a climatic or suspenseful part or theme.

In this scene from the film The Silence of the Lambs  parallel editing is used. The scene is a great example of cross cutting because it creates immense suspense. Another example of parallel editing is used in the baptism scene from The Godfather. It creates a theme showing Al Pacino's life is a contradiction. In one scene he is in a church and the other shows him in the mafia killing people. The scene is a paradox and the theme is evident with the technique of parallel editing.