US gun documentary admits using the editing trick you know everyone's using

'I questioned her and the editor about the pause and was told that a ‘beat’ was added for, as she described it, ‘dramatic effect''

'Under the Gun', EPIX

Anyone who has seen more than a handful of reality shows and documentaries is probably familiar with this setup:

- Person A says something to Person B

- *Shot of Person B looking confused* (not necessarily from same part of conversation)

- Person B speaks after a pause, or says nothing at all

It’s an editing technique used to add drama, tension or awkwardness to a situation, and Katie Couric’s recent Under the Gun documentary has been caught out.

During the EPIX-aired program she asks a group of gun rights activists: “If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from walking into, say, a licensed gun dealer and purchasing a gun?”

There is then an apparent eight-second delay before they respond - except audio recordings have revealed that they, in fact, responded straight away.

On the website for the documentary, famed presenter Katie Couric issued a mea culpa.

“As executive producer of ‘Under the Gun,’ a documentary film that explores the epidemic of gun violence, I take responsibility for a decision that misrepresented an exchange I had with members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL),” she wrote. “My question to the VCDL regarding the ability of convicted felons and those on the terror watch list to legally obtain a gun, was followed by an extended pause, making the participants appear to be speechless.

“When I screened an early version of the film with the director, Stephanie Soechtig, I questioned her and the editor about the pause and was told that a ‘beat’ was added for, as she described it, ‘dramatic effect,’ to give the audience a moment to consider the question. When VCDL members recently pointed out that they had in fact immediately answered this question, I went back and reviewed it and agree that those eight seconds do not accurately represent their response….I regret that those eight seconds were misleading and that I did not raise my initial concerns more vigorously.”

Defending the film, director Soechtig previously said that her “intention was to provide a pause for the viewer to have a moment to consider this important question before presenting the facts”.