Cuts & Transitions 101
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- čas přidán 2. 03. 2016
- Director/Editor Joey Scoma is here to talk to you about something simple: cuts and transitions. Except... there are so many different kinds!! In this video essay, Joey lists and defines the different cuts and transitions available to you as an editor, with examples from classic and modern films. It's up to you to decide when and why you'd use them!
What movie is that clip from?! Just turn on Closed Captioning!
Written and edited by Joey Scoma
Assistant edited by Sean Przano
Joey can answer your editing questions directly here in our forum!
j.mp/CutsTransitions101
Want to know more about secrets cuts and the art of editing? Check out these cool videos that we love:
The Film Theorists - Birdman Secret Edits You Probably Missed:
• Video
The Cutting Edge - Full Documentary:
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Thanks for watching! More videos at school.rocketjump.com! - Krátké a kreslené filmy
0:00 Intro
- Cuts -
0:29 Cutting on Action (One shot to another while subject is in Motion)
0:58 Cutaway (Cut into an insert shot and back)
1:30 Crosscut (Intercut between locations)
2:13 Jumpcut (Cut between the same shot to deliberately show the passing of time)
2:59 Match Cut (Cut from one shot to a similar shot by matching the action or composition )
3:38 Verbal Match Cut (Match cut by dialogue)
- Transitions -
3:53 Fade In/Out (Dissolving to/from a colour)
4:04 Dissolve (Blend one shot into another)
4:55 Smash Cut (Abrupt transition)
5:33 Iris (Old cameras close their iris manually to achieve such the transition)
5:57 Wipe (Literally “wiping” the scene, replacing with another scene)
6:13 Invisible Cut (Impression of a single tick, but the cuts are not easily spotted)
- Audio Transitions -
7:25 L-Cut (Audio of current shot carries on to the next shot)
8:01 J-Cut (Audio of the next scene starts before the Visuals)
Hope this helps!
legend
thank you
good job!
from someone too lazy to take notes during this, thank you
Helps for my assignment so much, thank you
I keep coming back to this one. It's a cheat sheet.
Surely it is , but I didn't knew that transitions are soo many types .
See I tried here - czcams.com/video/XrQTsbK044I/video.html
I came here to comment just that.. loll I keep coming back
Precisely!
That's pretty much my cheat sheet too, every time I come to this video to see which transitions I could use in my next one :D for example, I've structure all the scenes in this one: czcams.com/video/eUo0FfExH70/video.html around transitions shown in this video
😂
You forgot to mention the greatest cut of all time, "the CZcams Ad Cut."
Occurs just after the first 3 frames of a video.
This video taught me more about editing in 12 minutes than my first year in film school - I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ve just wasted a ton of money
As somebody about to graduate, I concur. Unless you're getting value out of something beyond lectures, all the things you want to know exist outside of that massive paywall. There's also the Tarantino method of learning which is to spend 10k on making a terrible first film, and learning at a much discounted and highly accelerated rate.
and time
Yeah but going to film school looks way better on the resume than 'watched YT vids'. Hope it works out for you either way :)
I just saved a bunch if money with RocketJump Film School.
@@Antiganos There's no result without failure. Tarantino is one of the best director today in Hollywood.
[TIME] [TRANSITION NAME]
0:29 CUTTING ON ACTION
0:58 CUT AWAY
1:31 CROSS CUT
2:13 JUMP CUT
3:00 MATCH CUT
3:53 FADE IN / FADE OUT
4:04 DISSOLVE
4:55 SMASH CUT
5:32 IRIS
5:57 WIPE
6:05 MORE WIPES
6:13 INVISIBLE CUT
7:24 L - CUT
8:01 J - CUT
9:04 CREATIVE COMBINATIONS
-----------------------------------------------------
*Same as above but with a short description...*
[TIME] [TRANSITION NAME]
[TRANSITION DESCRIPTION]
0:29 CUTTING ON ACTION
_This means, cutting from one shot to another while the subject is still in motion._
0:58 CUT AWAY
_This means, cutting to an insert shot of something, and then back._
1:31 CROSS CUT
_This is when the editor intercuts cuts back and forth between locations._
2:13 JUMP CUT
_Jump cuts are when the editor cuts between the SAME shot._
3:00 MATCH CUT
_Match cuts are often incorrectly referred to as jump cuts... A match cut cuts from one shot to a similar shot, by either matching the action or the composition._
3:53 FADE IN / FADE OUT
_It's just dissolving either to, or from, black._
4:04 DISSOLVE
_It's when you blend one shot into another._
4:55 SMASH CUT
_Smash cuts are abrupt transitions._
5:32 IRIS
_It used to be an in-camera effect back in the day, when you could manually open and close your iris to transition from black. Nowadays, it's used as a stylistic choice._
5:57 WIPE
_A wipe is a wipe..._
6:05 MORE WIPES
_There are many types of wipes._
6:13 INVISIBLE CUT
_It is used to give the impression of a single take..._
7:24 L - CUT
_It is an audio-based transition. This is when the audio from the current shot carries over to the next shot._
8:01 J - CUT
_It is when the audio from the next scene starts BEFORE you get to it._
9:04 CREATIVE COMBINATIONS
i000313 u a real one
Thanks
Thank you, good sir.
wow THANK YOU
thanks
Such a modest title for such an amazing video!
is video editing just all about transitions? so long as i can do transitions, i can be a good video editor!!!
It's about storytelling of which transitions are a small part.
transitions are a small part of the whole scheme of editing.
Blueberry Tent so true
caco ko I think you’ve summed it up man
Oh no! Now I can't never watch a movie without thinking "that's a nice .....cut!"
Well now it is a skilled you have acquired , congrats and welcome to the club 🙂.
I do the same except with shots
Welcome to being a movie fan.
In case you can’t tell the difference between the L and J cut, just remember how it looks when editing. Since in an L cut, the sound carries over to the next shot, it resembles a capital L. With J cuts, since the audio starts before the next scene begins, it resembles a J.
that doesnt make any sense
the letter L visuall looks like its moving in a forward direction, hence the sound moving forward and carried over to the next shot, like the forward direction of the L. The J cut applies the same concept, because the J visually looks like its facing backwards, so the audio is starting before the beginning of the next scene. Its just a tactic to visually associate the J and the L letters to what they mean as cuts. @@hopemya9606
@hopemya9606 The vertical part of the letter is the moment of the cut, and its "tail" (that represents the sound) is either before or after it.
@hopemya9606 ofc it does. Look up pictures. When you use an editing software, look at the audio and video tracks. You have one that looks like a capital L and then one that almost looks like a capital J, but not totally. Just google pictures of L cuts and J cuts and you’ll see
This video is incredible.
Yed
Well typed !!
I agree!
Probably my most favorite cut in movies is the J cut. I've always been fascinated with it since I was a kid back in the 70's. To me there's something very interesting about hearing the next scene just before seeing it.
Qboro66 Lol that's kind of funny - I've always had an irrational hatred of the J cut. For me, there's something very irritating about it. Maybe it's the fact that every time I hear it, there's a split-second in which it 1) takes me out of the film in confusion, 2) I recognise the cut, and 3) I realise that same old wool's been pulled over my eyes as it has a million times before. Lol it's fine tho - I just probably won't be using it much in my own films.
It's pretty normal, both the liking and the disliking behavior. To the point where mere exposure effect can predetermine you to like it (and hate it). We rarely hear and see smth simultaneously.
Often, we hear then check out by sight. Faucet opens? We check to see instinctively. That's also when/why it could be unpleasant. (I.e. when the transition is "fake", feels intrusive.) As you would feel if you hear a strange noise coming while I'm the midst of a conversation.
It's probably been around since we were living as hunter-gatherers.
Me too. I just generally tend to like the effect it has on my perception of the ongoing story. Especially when it reveals something significant after the cut. Like when the character's eyes lock onto something and the audio hints us to what it is and the cut reveals what it was that the character saw and reacted that way.
there is a scene in the beginning of the second Jurassic Park movie where it cuts to Dr. Malcolm on a train platform that i remember being fascinated by as a kid. I rewound and watched that transition so many times that the VHS got fuzzy in that part.
@@ARGhostie I agree with both of you and maybe it depends on how well the cut has been executed. Some films deliberately stretch it to several seconds which I find gimmicky too.
Match cut is literally the coolest editing technique.
Yea bro, I agree
I still find it jarring the way it’s done in Space Odyssey. I get the idea but it always looks like they could have done a better job. Especially since everyone seems to think that movie is perfect.
@@Liusila it does seem like an odd choice because they could have matched the bone being at the same angle as the ship, not sure why they didn't
It basically was a 12 minute short film about cutting stuff up
Genius
That was INCREDIBLY helpful, I mean, it was awesome haha. As u said it, people wont even notice. My friend asked my why I take so long to edit.. they say it looks easy and all haha.. its like magic, the better you are, the less people see. Great video, I subbed!
Wah ! Nice
I shared this with my teacher for Video and now he uses it when teaching
Thanks Joey!
A movie is being made three times:
1.Script
2.Production
3.Editing
The editorial process is quite unique! Fact is, quite some of those edits shown here are not planned in advance, but happen during the editorial process.
Happy accidents are your best friend in the cutting room!
To know I have obeyed the laws of cuts and transitions without knowing all this information amazes me! I taught myself through sight but this really elevates my eye now!
This video has not only helped identify what I've done but helped me title my video reels. Thank you for this!
wow, MashaAllah!
Very informative video, even for someone who has been editing for years like myself. It would have helped if they had visually shown why it's called a J and L cut for people who don't know.
+Digitalsoju TV why is it called J and L respectively?
Shortcut because it's the shape it looks like when you make the cut. Go to google image search and search "L cut" and you can see a good visualization of it.
Oh snap! I didn't think about it! First thing that popped into my head was because letters L and J are used as 'play' and 'play back' as default in editing software :)
^perfect example
Thank you for your help. it will really help to clear this
i have a feeling this is a video i will watch over and over again, very precise in such a short period of time. great work you guys are doing on this channel, i just want to thank you for that. :)
JR Alli and I just want to thank for your amazing videos ❤️
JR Alli and I just want to thank for your amazing videos ❤️
No way jr alli i never thought u will be came here holly
9:20 The matching J cut in Fight Club is freaking genius. When Norton's character drops that folder and you hear the splash of water from Pitt's character in the next scene where he's taking a bath. That sound was the basis of that transition to the next scene and it was brilliantly done.
This video is almost 3 years old and I have to say thank you. It is just what I needed. I recently started making videos on CZcams and all I have been using is the cross fade, but your explanation and examples have opened up a whole new world of editing for me. THANK YOU.
For years I've been trying to describe the L and J cut. Now I finally have a term for them. Ty!
Wow I will watch this again when I make a MEP !
Here - czcams.com/video/ZKuA4fyyB6I/video.html
Theyr're often called Audio/Sound Bridges.
I use to call them "splits" but J and L are more fancy names.
Funny how I've used a lot of these editing techniques and never knew what they were called till now.
+BM Comes from watching a lot of movies. And a creative personality.
Ya I don’t think the terminology is at all important. It’s just knowing what the best cut(s) to make for a given situation.
Matt Orfalea terminology helps for teamwork
Scary movie 3 used wisely many of these transitions. The J cut joke with ship horn is pure art.
This is the most no-nonsense, straight to the point, and content-driven video on editing I've seen so far.
Oh my god, that closed caption thing is genius.
I love it when the audio from a scene continues to play as the next scene or montage begins.
it can be really good if pulled off correctly, but if an editor cuts away too soon or too late it can get quite jarring both visually and aurally.
Yea this one is my favorite
One of the BEST explanations (with examples) on this topic, by far!
Bravo!!!
I come back to this every few months. Thank you so much, this info changed my life.
CUTS
Cutting on action - 0:30
Cutaway - 0:59
Cross Cut - 1:31
Jump Cut - 2:13
Match Cut - 2:59
TRANSITIONS
Fade In/Out - 3:53
Dissolve - 4:04
Smash Cut - 4:55
IRIS - 5:32
Wipe - 5:57
Invisible Cut - 6:13
L Cut - 7:25
J Cut - 8:01
Creative Combinations - 9:04
Pranav Chaturvedi HES already did that :/
thank you
Thank you!
I knew Mad Max was good, but I hadn't realised I had to watch a scene 3 times to see how good it actually is!
That's really not what he was saying at all. He's talking about the quality of editing not the quantity of cuts..
Are you kidding? I would have enjoyed Fury Road if not for the editing. The frame skipping gave me a migraine, Saving Private Ryan used low frame rate more succesfully, imo.
It's a wonderful film thematically speaking.
he didn't exactly say he judges a movie by how many cuts. that's what YOU read into it.
So a good movie can only be evaluated by the theme/Nerrative/character designs? You think the characters in mad max are borring.. ok. You think it is narrated wrong.. ok. That is thankfully your subjective thought on the movie. I think it is one of the best films in the latest years. It is technically a genuin movie. It is directed very well, and the vfx and practical effects in the movie is off the charts. I got the theme and the characters was really funny and interesting. You must be so boring to watch movies with. Even the oscars was praising mad max, just saying.
Thanks a lot. I showed this to my Multimedia class today. I was unprepared and you saved me hours of work compiling film clips. Nice job!
This is one of the best videos on CZcams. Very informative and fascinating. The use of examples is done well.
3:40 - I like to think I'm a smart guy but then comes shit like that and I'm in tears
Wobblebass "enormus flying willy"
Wobblebass movie?
It's one of the austin powers movies
Edgar Wright is the master of transitions
Kubrick and Satoshi Kon also have fantastic transitions :)
This video literally saved me when I was confused about editing my film.
This video really is the best. I love how it doesn't tell you when and where to use any of the cuts, it just explains where they are commonly used and provides a few examples. Doesn't waste time with bullshit either. I feel much more knowledgeable about editing 10 minutes after this than I did after taking an hours-long Lynda course on it.
Amazingly well done video
Edgar Wright movies use so many creative edits and camera moves you could make this entire video from just examples out of the Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim.
+Gravitynaut I could not agree more. Especially Scott Pilgrim is so incredibly creative and imo deserves a full deconstruction. Damn, that movie is filled with detail!
+wer8023 I keep hearing new things in the sound design every watch.
+wer8023 I'm watching Hot Fuzz right now and the shot transitions are so great. All of them are dynamic and creative. His movies continue to just blow me away even after 10+ watched.
Gravitynaut did you see Baby Driver? It's amazing also nice Aquatic Life profile picture!
Genuinely one of the best videos I've ever watched. Thank you for your help!
This is a very well-done video. I use it a lot when teaching the basics of video production and film grammar. Thanks!
I absolutely love your video essays. Please continue to do more! Not only is it a great way to see some iconic scenes, but I can appreciate it even more than I did initially. *__*
wow its such a amazing video. thank you so much u really educate me lots of things. i hope i used in a right way in my vlog
One of my favorite cuts ever is the match cut in Last Crusade when the guy puts his hat on young Indiana Jones and when the hat lifts up it's fast forwarded to him as an adult.
I love that one.
easily one of my fav utube vids for film of all time. Has helped me teach film in the classroom and has given me great ideas for projects with the content they created.
Thank you for being more efficient in explaining things than Film Riot
+Michael Carr They lack focus and are more dependent on personality than skill.
So crazy that this channel probably has more information on filmmaking than my entire college education
One of best videos i have ever seen on CZcams. Your explanation was too good,even a layman can understand very easily..your explanation to all the editings were simply amazing and you have taken the movies which mostly everyone has watched,by this they can understand very easily the difference of each cut's..
Really hats off to your work bro 👏👏
To all the creative thinkers who r making content creation, this is tressure for us! guys, amzazed by this ! thankful
Closed Captions, many youtubers are too lazy to add that.
Holy shit, my Film Studies homework was to watch this video
I'm 11 years old and I understand all of it
@@jontesart7213 lol
Alfie Edwards seriously, I'm only 11 no joke
ThePhotoKing2020 Speed tutorials damn you wanna be a director or something later?
Alfie Edwards I don't think so, maybe an editor, I do mostly cgi / vfx on my Instagram @thephotoking2020
So far best editing video on you tube... thanks a million mate!!
J-Cuts and L-Cuts are most common in documentaries. Especially going from a “scene” to an interview and vice versa.
I'm starting to find that the writing and editing tutorials are what fascinate me the most.
I agree
+Flounderboy15 I'm starting to believe that the writer AND editor are both the vital lifelines of your content and skimping on either could be a mistake
3:44 *"I was distracted by that enourmous flying... Wily!"*
“What’s that?”
“That looks like a giant-“
“-Johnson!”
“Yes Sir.”
@Aitor Neo Logo -- Austin Powers, the second one (I think)
@Aitor Neo Logo The spy who shagged me
lmao
If someone really watches this video carefully and comprehensively then it has enough substance to make them the best editor out there . Great Video !!! Thanks
Beautifully explained, ive seen all of these without knowing their names. Fascinating.
This was a fantastic video for beginners like me! Awesome!
I didn't go to film school, but I love learning new things.
Still one of my favourite videos on YT. Come back to it often and always find it helpful 👍
I'm teaching myself editing and this has been incredibly informative. Thank you thank you thank you.
Went to school for over 2 years to study filmmaking and accrued over $30,000 dollars in student loan debt which I'm still paying for and will say I've learned more from this channel since subscribing than I ever did in school. Thanks for your channel!
Everything was explained simple and straightforward. I wouldn't learn so much not without such perfect examples. Thanks!
Thanks for making this video, concise and clearly explained! Very useful
7:39 I don’t think enough love goes to the matte painting on the left side of the screen
Editors of bohemian rhapsody should learn about this video.
Why what happened? I haven't seen that movie.
@@gurikasemit theres a breakdown of bohemians transitions on yt
Whats with the BR?
@@rigormortiz9114 one of the worst edited movies
@@uncomfortablecat if you guys are gonna say something is the worst or terrible always say why. if not your opinion is not valid and were all gonna be lost and think your opinion doesn't mean anything
One day I was reading an article on screenplay and it said that the more "effortless" it looks the more effort it has put on it. You have to put a lot of effort to make something look effortless in the film. And that's the point..the more it looks like it's in a flow, the better it is. These are small things but they add up and you may not notice them consciously but you ARE noticing it subconsciously and that's why some films which have really good plots seem a bit dull.. because they are not focusing on these so called "little things".
Ok i declare this is the best video that talks about this topic on youtube
7:11 if you look closely, when the narrator says “here.” The card slightly moves to the top left. This is the cut.
I think the problem is with the hand, not the card. Why would there be a problem with the cards??
I think the cut is when the hands go out of the screen. Then other hands are coming back
Amazing way of teaching us! thanks
It's nice having the correct name for the transitions we have been using for year. Thank you!
That match cut dissolve looked amazing, this video didn't have what I was looking for, but I actually learned a ton...so thank you.
best filmmaking channel on CZcams. no over the top jokes like Film Riot that make the video 13 minutes long, and not an amateur like DSLRGuide. Thanks!
+Polan Well, this video is about twelve minutes long anyway.
I really dig this kind of overview. Keep em coming!
What a great video!! This is one of the few videos I've found that explains what they mean properly and don't just show examples, besides, the closed captions are great!!!
Man just speechless how effective it is on several years after ❤
Such a satisfying, amazing video. thanks!
Great editing is one of the reasons that makes Mad Max one of my most favorite movies.
the whole video is so helpful. and straight to the point.
THANK YOU
Saw this a while back and loved the examples !!!
Wish me luck, I'm submitting a short film for a Digital Arts contest so I'll be binge watching these all night. Starting with this one.
How was it?
How was it?
How was it?
Bryan Crowe How was it?
How was it?
My personal favourite is a continuous shot. Basically, the camera man follows the actor around and films the entire scene in a single shot; hence the continuous. Just like the one in Game of Thrones during the Battle of Bastards when the camera was following Jon in action as mayhem ensued
That's a shot not a cut. But that is a cool shot.
Kind of like the Daredevil hallway fight, right?
The Batman Of Neo-Gotham And now, all action scenes in Jon Wick: Chapter 2
goodlyboony or the bike chase in Children of Men or
Excellent, very useful compendium of transitions. And to show how to use them in combination is a big step beyond what other how-to videos do. Thank you!
Thank you SO much. This was extremely helpful and well done. I’ve been editing just self taught for a few years and jumping up my game. Many of the cuts I’ve been intuitively using I questioned if I know what the hell im doing. Many will seem natural and I’ll replay over and over again still wondering. No I see I’ve been doing some of these cuts you went over. I will be studying this video many more times. Thank you loads!
I'm very happy that my observation in movies has increased drastically.....i noticed j- cuts and l-cuts all the time but didn't know what do we call that technique
I just learned so much information.
Such a great teacher is this video. Will keep coming back to this. Thank you
Perfectly explained. Really useful. Thanks.
im never going to forget that the first time i saw star wars i laughed until i cried for several minutes because of that wipe transition of C-3PO
I love you
The more you learn, the more you realise there's so much more to learn. Awesome eye opener video👍🏽 Thank you!
Thank you for putting so much effort and time into such an amazing video.
I think the J-cut is my fav other than the cut on action
Do you write these into your screenplays or should you leave them out to allow the director to shoot what they want?
+RocketJump Film School thank you even more for responding!
+RocketJump Film School what if your the writer and director?
+Falling Chips *you're
+Falling Chips shouldn't you work with your cinematographer? Or write the script concentrating on story and then separately add what shots you want to do?
There is such a thing as a "directors script" but you should do that separately and only after you've written the regular one because actors don't need to see that and you should always get in the habit of writing scripts that a studio/investor is used to seeing
This is a great refresher on video cuts and transitions, Thank you!
I love the whole thing with the closed captions... brilliant!
Started in on directing a short animation and was going well until I had to stitch all our scenes together and while the story board was great the lack of thoughtfully designed transitions and cuts ruined the films quality. Definitely learned a lot in the process and continue to try to better understand the nuance of cinematic sequencing.
Kingsman's fight scenes have really good invisible cuts!
Wow! Besides the great content, watching so many examples from those really great movies just made feel like re-watching them all but now paying attention to all the types of cuts!
Thanks a lot, it's soo much helpful for writing screenplay, editing and filmmaking.
Requiem for a Dream!