DIFFERENT CUTS

Camera Cuts

 Jump Cut

The jump cut is a technique which allows the editor to jump forward in time. We see an early version of this technique in Einsteins‘s, Battleship Potemkin, where the battleship fires a mortar round and we watch the destruction as various angles jump cut from one to another. In this very early version of the jump cut, contemporary audiences were introduced to a new way of time passage in film. It obviously gained traction and is one of the most used types of cuts today next to the hard cut.

 L Cut & J Cut

First, let’s talk about the L Cut. This editing technique is used not only by narrative filmmakers, but is also a favorite of documentary filmmakers and commercial videographers. What L Cut means is that you are hearing the audio from the previous shot, even though we’ve moved on to another shot. So, the audience is is looking at clip B but still hearing audio from clip A.

Again, this type of editing technique is used to help lead audiences along in the narrative by giving them spacial information and audio. L Cuts are also used to contextualize a conversation or give it deeper meaning, as was done in Skyfall during the museum scene with Q and 007. As they are talking, we cut to the painting of the old warship on the wall while Q continues to talk, explaining what they are looking at while also correlating 007s career to the warship in the painting.