---
title: 'Parasite''s Perfect Editing'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=FERFf97aW00'
video_id: 'FERFf97aW00'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 636
---

# Parasite's Perfect Editing

> Source: [Parasite's Perfect Editing](https://youtube.com/watch?v=FERFf97aW00)

## Summary

The video analyzes the editing techniques in Bong Joon-ho's film *Parasite*, focusing on how the director avoided traditional coverage shooting and instead planned edits in pre-production. It explores the collaborative nature of editing, involving script, performance, and cinematography, and argues that understanding editing improves all aspects of filmmaking.

### Key Points

- **Scholar's stone jump cut** [0:06] — The opening scene uses a subtle jump cut to convey Ki-woo's attraction to the stone, making the audience lose track of time.
- **No coverage approach** [2:08] — Bong Joon-ho did not shoot coverage for most scenes; he relied on storyboards and shot lists, limiting the editor's choices to selecting the best take and timing transitions.
- **Montage definition** [4:24] — Montage is defined as creating meaning through the juxtaposition of two shots; it is the fundamental building block of editing.
- **Performance and edit collaboration** [5:14] — Smooth transitions often require collaboration between performance (e.g., a glance) and the editor's timing, originating from the script.
- **Creative choices with coverage** [5:56] — In scenes with coverage, the editor can make creative choices like crossing the line of action to emphasize character traits.
- **VFX for timing and stitching** [7:50] — VFX are used to composite takes, perfect timing, and even stitch together pans to create the illusion of a single take.
- **Screenwriter as first editor** [9:17] — The screenwriter is the first editor, and understanding editing makes one a better screenwriter or cinematographer, and vice versa.

## Transcript

At the beginning of parasite Min shows up with the scholars stone
Ki-woo is immediately attracted to the stone. He stares at it intently
The next cut is a break in continuity, a jump in time
The stone has already been lifted out of the box and ki-woo is looking in a totally different direction
But this jump is barely noticeable
the dialogue from this shot starts under the previous shot making the jump in time almost imperceptible
Is this a landscape type?
The transition from a closer shot to a wide shot also keeps us from being a jump cut but the subtle passing of
time isn't accidental. We enter into Ki-Woo's subjective perspective in this moment
we're experiencing his attraction to the rock and it's almost as if he and
We the audience lose track of time and snap back to reality a moment later,
Realising time has passed
There are many examples of this kind of subtle and precise editing in parasite that we could examine
But parasite provides us with a great opportunity not just to examine and break down some examples of effective editing,
But to ask ourselves, what editing is and who really does editing in a film?
This video is sponsored by Mubi check out their curated collection of streaming cinema and movie comm slash Thomas flight
Most likely the majority of films and TV shows you watch are shot with a process called
Coverage
When shooting a scene a director and cinematographer will usually shoot the scene from a variety of angles
They'll shoot some wide shots, close-ups, medium shots and over-the-shoulder shots
Then it will be the job of the editor to stitch together the scene from all these takes
The director hopefully has an idea going into the scene of how it will progress visually
But with coverage you have an option in the Edit of changing the visual structure of the scene
We know from interviews with Bong Joon-ho
That he did not shoot coverage for Parasite except where it was absolutely necessary
This means for a scene like this where the entire scene plays out from a single angle
this was probably the only angles they shot this scene from they didn't shoot any other angles just in case they wanted to
Change how the scene progressed in the edit
so in this case instead of creating the visual progression of the scene
the editors job is just to choose the best take and
Time the transition into an out of the shot
For Bong Joon-ho, one of the reasons he can avoid shooting coverage is that he's often
Incorporating or planning how the film will be edited together in the script and in his storyboards
Let's look at this scene
as the conversation shifts to the idea of counting the parks the visual composition of the scene changes
And we have this shot
it's a transition from here to here and from
Using this angle of Min to this angle of Min
Was planned for this moment in Bong Joon-ho's storyboards
And cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong just shot the scene the way it was storyboarded
And editor Jim-mo Yang just followed bong storyboards and stitched the two shots together.
Do we attribute the effectiveness of the end result to editing, cinematography or directing?
Ultimately, no matter which person made the creative decision or if it was made in pre-production
Post-production or production we can attribute the effectiveness of the transition to editing
When we use the word editing or often incorporating two things into that definition
first we're referring to the activities of the actual editor and the creative decisions they make but we're also referring to the
Concept of an edit in film language. This is sometimes called montage
I'm not talking about montage sequences like the one you see later in parasite
A montage sequence uses a faster series of shots that usually condenses time, space and information
When I say montage here
I'm referring specifically to the creation of meaning through the visual juxtaposition of two shots
By itself this is just a shot of a stone and by itself this is just a shot of Ki-woo but edited together
they create a moment where Ki-woo, looks at a stone that's montage and
Montage is the fundamental building block used by editors to create meaning
But montage and editing can happen long before a film is even shot
Towards the end of parasite there is a lot of inner cutting between different locations and characters
A lot of action is happening all at once but this is carefully managed in a way that is
seamless
We can attribute this seamlessness and pacing to editing but it isn't just the editor
who's responsible for how these scenes flow together and are inter-cut
For example
Here, the cut from the kitchen to the basement is aided by Choong-sook's glance towards the stairs
The performance and the edit have to work together to create that smooth transition
it's the work of the editor to time the cut with look but for the editor to do that the look has to
exist in the performance
And in this case it originates in the script
But I'm not trying to diminish the work of parasites editor Jim-mo Yang
or give all the credit to Bong Joon-ho
By making strong and effective creative editing decisions early on,
director Bong is simply giving his editor more time and space to work on everything else
Some scenes are still shot with coverage and it's up to Jim-mo Yang
to work out the timing of the cuts in those scenes
In this scene it appears coverage was shot
It looks like the entire scene was probably filmed from these four angles
Here the editor cuts to
this shot crossing the line of action instead of cutting back to this angle
Which stays on the line of action
This choice emphasizes the idea that Mr. Kim is someone who will cross the line
the material to be able to make this choice
crossing the line and creating meaning through montage had to be provided by the cinematographer
and it was probably planned for by Bong
But if coverage was shot the editor still needs to decide when is the right moment in that scene to cut to that new angle
In this scene we see the housekeeper inside over video and also on the outside in the rain
An important decision for the scene is when to show her on the outside in the film
We don't see her outside until right before. Mrs. Kim takes some pity on her and lets her in
The shot mirrors some shots of the Kim's from earlier
And so I think it makes sense to show her outside for the first time when mrs
Kim relates to her and has sympathy on her
But this shot could have come at the beginning of the scene or in the middle
and it's up to the editor to make that decision
But even with the constraints of no coverage shooting there's still a lot an editor can do
As VFX become cheaper, better and more accessible
they're increasingly used by editors in subtle ways to improve timing and performance
The lock down shots in a moment like this
It's easy to composite two shots together to perfect the timing of actions
Here's another example
If I wanted in the shop for the housekeeper and the dog to come in a little earlier
That would be a very easy adjustment to make
But it goes deeper than that. In an interview with the art of the cut Jim-mo Yang revealed that
shot stitching is used in the film even during pans on longer, unbroken takes
In the same way the editor of 1917 can combine multiple takes to create the illusion of one longer take
Editors like Jim-mo Yang
can use the same techniques to combine multiple takes to perfect timing or combine two different performances
and if they're not spending most of their time constructing scenes from coverage
the editor will have more time to spend perfecting every little detail
The role of editing is massive and far-reaching in film
but the building blocks of good editing often start with the script and cinematography
A great editor will be able to create magic from scenes shot with coverage. Coverage itself isn't bad
but often when a director like Bong Joon-ho is planning the cinematography, performance and editing
and how they'll work together from the beginning of the process
It can lead to a quality of work difficult to achieve otherwise.
In the same way the editor of a film is often referred to as the last screenwriter
The screenwriter is, in a sense, the first editor even if they're never communicating directly, in reality
the editor is working in collaboration on the edit with many other members of the film crew
understanding editing will make you a better screen writer or cinematographer
And understanding screenwriting and cinematography will make you a better editor
This video is sponsored by Mubi
Parasite was a film that I think made a lot of people realize that the world of international film has a lot to offer
if you want to have more access and find interesting indie films arthouse films or international cinema
check out Mubi! Mubi has 30 films at a time and they add a new one every day
It's a great place to find new stuff and you can try it for free for 30 days when you go to
Thanks so much for watching
If you want to see some additional commentary on parasite that just didn't fit into one of these essays
You can watch this month's bonus video on my patreon by becoming a patron for five dollars a month at patreon.com/thomasflight