Wes Anderson’s Symmetry and Symmetrical Editing Explained

Wes Anderson’s use of symmetry in shot composition has long been widely discussed—but did you know that symmetry also extends into his editing style? Anderson applies symmetry to every aspect of his filmmaking, without exception, from patterns of events to staging and production design. This article will walk you through the art behind Wes Anderson’s symmetrical editing; by the end, you’ll understand how it works and why it’s so stylistically powerful.

Breaking Down Wes Anderson’s Style

For most filmmakers, it’s difficult to carve out a truly unique stylistic category for themselves, but Wes Anderson is a director whose style is completely distinct. Anderson’s use of color is one of his most iconic visual traits—but his work goes far beyond vivid characters and exquisite production design. First, let’s define what symmetrical editing is.

What Is Symmetrical Editing?

Symmetrical editing is an editing style in which one or more elements are matched between shots. This is not limited to simple match cuts; it also involves blocking, production design, and timing. Symmetrical editing is not mutually exclusive with continuity or discontinuity editing; rather, it’s a stylistic extension of both temporal techniques.

Elements of Symmetrical Editing:

• Composition

• Block elements

• Staging

• Pattern events

• Rhythm

Symmetrical Editing: Shot/Reverse Shot

Since the birth of cinema, filmmakers have used a technique called “shot/reverse shot,” in which one subject is filmed and then the viewpoint is reversed to film the other subject. For example, these shots are usually taken from contrasting angles; a right-shoulder over-the-shoulder shot might be followed by a left-shoulder over-the-shoulder shot. Anderson, however, often takes a drastically different approach—he usually places his subject in the center of the frame.

Wes Anderson’s symmetrical framing in The Royal Tenenbaums

For Anderson, this is more than a gimmick; symmetrical composition in shot/reverse shot is a fundamental part of his directorial style.

He uses this strategy across a variety of shot sizes, from medium shots to close-ups and everything in between.

Wes Anderson using symmetrical shot sizes in Isle of Dogs

So if you want to edit like Anderson, don’t be afraid of symmetrical framing. Use different shot sizes to vary the sense of distance between the audience and the subject. You can easily practice this at home with just two subjects—place them on opposite sides of the frame, forming a 180-degree line.

First, shoot the first subject head-on, centered in the frame. Then shoot the second subject the same way, also centered. And there you have it: a symmetrical shot/reverse-shot pair.

Symmetrical Editing: Pattern Events

In many of Anderson’s finest films, including Moonrise Kingdom, you can find the use of patterns. For example, Anderson turns something as simple as walking in a straight line into a textbook case of symmetrical editing. The mirrored blocking and production design, and the way they visually align Sam and Suzy, all demonstrate this.

In other scenes, Anderson uses pattern events as a narrative tool of “juxtaposition.” In this sequence, he uses a telephone chase to lead us through the world of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Each segment ends on a symmetrical shot and cleverly employs iris transitions.

The process of shooting each frame can also be seen as symmetrical, because in the world of The Grand Budapest Hotel, both concierges and lobby boys are equally important to the plot and to the visual composition.

Pattern events are everywhere in cinema, from training montages to interrogation scenes. Harold Ramis’s Groundhog Day is a great example that shows how repetition functions effectively in symmetrical editing. You’ll notice that Ramis continually changes the framing of the clock, pushing the camera closer and closer to the ticking digits.

Remember, symmetrical editing isn’t just about symmetrical composition! It can also appear in patterned events and rhythmically structured cuts. Groundhog Day is a perfect example that showcases all kinds of elements of symmetrical editing.

Wes Anderson’s Metric Montage

What do Wes Anderson and Soviet montage theory have in common? As it turns out, quite a lot. Soviet montage theory—a film movement that arose in the Soviet Union in the 1910s, 1920s, and early 1930s—outlined five types of montage-based filmmaking.

One of these is “metric montage,” defined as cutting shots according to a specific number of frames. For example, any two or more consecutive shots that are cut to exactly the same frame length are considered an example of metric montage.

In today’s film world, metric montage is almost obsolete. However, some directors still use this technique, and Anderson is one of them.

In The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson primarily uses metric montage when introducing each major character. Some theorists argue that this symmetrical shot composition distracts viewers from the underlying rhythm.

Wes Anderson’s use of shots • Metric montage in The Royal Tenenbaums

Rhythmic montage is a type of montage designed to echo musical rhythm. Used well, rhythmic montage gives a film a smooth narrative flow. Anderson skillfully employs rhythmic montage in many of his films.