Techniques
The styles and uses of editing to support the narrative
The identity's editing techniques
There are a number of styles of editing when cutting clips together to create a narrative, along with a number of additions that can be made to the way that certain shots/clips are used and incorporated into the edit. The overall editing style of The Identity would be continuity editing, and the techniques and shots that would be used within the edit would be sequences (including flashback sequences and insert shots - a shot added to a scene for informational purposes or to provide dramatic emphasis), and cutaways.
Continuity Editing
Continuity editing is a style that maintains the continuous and seamless flow of a story when cutting clips together, allowing the footage that's cut together to tell a story and follow each other in the organisation of the narrative. For the most part, this traditional editing style would be the way that The Identity would be edited, in order for the story to make sense and connect throughout all three episodes.
Sequences
A sequence is a collection of shots that are linked together by a particular idea or purpose. While often the clips are cut together in quite a fast pace, they can be of any length to suit their input in the story and visuals. This would be used a number of times in the series, including a sequence of fast paced, jump cut styled clips when Lauren is searching through her house to find evidence that her mother is or isn't her real mother (featuring close-ups of draws being tipped upside down, documents, photos etc.) to symbolise her rush and emotion. Along with a flashback sequence of Lauren remembering the evidence that she's seen and gathered so far in the series, leading her to draw a conclusion, with clips cut quickly together alongside clips of her face looking thoughtful and panicked to give a sense of her remembering these images. And lastly in the end scenes of the final episode, when we see slower paced clips of Lauren watching her parents being told that her daughter is dead from a distance, emotionally calling her mother with a smile, and meeting up with Ethan - all in a conclusive summary for the characters.
The use of sequences allows for a more stylistic representation of certain scenes and clips, giving either a faster pace, a slower pace or simply for a visual stimulating use of imagery without dialogue. In an example of a more dramatic, fast paced and comedic style of a sequence, the example of a sequence can be seen below from 54 seconds to 1 minute 10 seconds.
'Hot Fuzz' Example
A cutaway can be used to show a separate clip that is taking place at the same time as the current scene, but elsewhere. These are useful for adding extra information to a story or narrative, giving insight into a character, or to indicate the start of story arc that could continue later. The Identity would use cutaways in a number of areas, including when Lauren travels to the airport in one shot, and seen in a cutaway, Frank is still having an affair, and at the same time at home, Kathleen finds proof of this and breaks down.
The use of cutaways in the series would allow for more diversity in visuals and character development without having to involve all clips of this in one piece of footage or location, along with allowing for entertaining changes to pacing.