For today’s lesson: the dreaded jump cut. Oh, how filmmakers and film-viewers alike hate the jump cut! I mentioned this type of shot a few posts back, but it definitely warrants its own blog post because of how many beginning filmmakers make the mistake of incorporating jump cuts.

     

     What is a jump cut?

• A jump cut is when two or more chronological shots of the same character or action are taken and the shot only varies slightly, causing the elements inside the frame to “jump.” This confuses the audience and generally is just bad filmmaking.

     The first rule of jump cuts: never use them. Unless you are consciously trying to disorient the audience for some strange, aesthetic appeal, don’t ever use the jump cut.

     How to avoid jump cuts:

•        Zoom instead of cutting
•       Shoot from a different angle to make the frame of the two shots different.

     Here’s a good tutorial to wrap up any loose ends and for a better visual example of the jump cut:

     See you next Friday at 7 p.m. for another lesson on the match cut. If you have any comments or questions please let me know!