Cuts & Transitions

CUTS

simple cut: changing from one scene to another

cross cutting: intercutting back and forth between locations (commonly used for phone conversations, or showing what’s going on in two locations at the same time)

jump cut: cutting abruptly between the same shot (commonly used to show passage of time, used in montages, etc., can be used to add a level of urgency to the scene)

smash cut: abrupt transitions (someone waking up from a dream/nightmare, going from something intense to quiet or quiet to intense)

match cut: cuts from one shot to a similar shot by either matching the action or the composition 

cutting on action: cutting from one shot to another while the subject is still in motion (character turning, shutting a door, etc.)

cutaway: cutting to an insert shot of something and then back (can be used to get inside the head of a character)

invisible cut: used to give the impression of a single take, but the cuts are hidden in blackness; or sometimes whip pans hide the cut in the motion blur of the camera movement; can also hide a cut with subject crossing the frame or leaving the frame 

AUDIO TRANSITIONS

L-cut: audio from current shot carries over to next shot

J-cut: when audio from next scene starts before you get to it (you hear what’s going on before you see what’s going on, great for revealing a new element within a scene) 

VISUAL TRANSITIONS

dissolve: when one image or scene gradually changes to another image or scene

fade in/out: the dissolve transition between a normal image and a black screen (image to black is a fade out; black to image is a fade in)

walk-by: using an object that literally wipes through your frame, showing another video underneath; also called masking transition

in-camera transitions: zooming/turning/etc. quickly in camera and hiding the cut with a motion blur

*stay away from weird, cheesy transitions (obvious wipes, etc.) — the more subtle your transitions are, the better

previous section: CAMERA MOVEMENTS