Cutting

Cutting helps you direct your audiences attention to the information you want them to see. A good cut goes unnoticed. The viewer should be so wrapped up in the story that they don't notice you've cut to a different shot. Each cut should naturally flow from the previous cut.

As a general rule, cut when have new visual information for the audience. For example:

• Introduce a new character

• Introduce a new idea

• Introduce a new set

• Point of view shot

• A cut away shot

Take a look at the famous opening shot from Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil

 

In this sequence, it is one continuous shot. No cuts! It's one long perfectly orchestrated shot giving you all the information you need. Notice how the car comes and goes in the shot to keep your interest on it and how new characters are introduced? Welles was being artistic and it's pretty cool but we aren't going to go that far, we are going to use cuts.

It’s tempting to cut for each new line of dialog, or just because you’ve been on a shot for a while. I'd like for you to resist that urge. Be smarter than that. If you set your shots up in compelling ways you'll be able to hang on a shot till you give the audience the information they need.

Look at the way this scene from The Graduate was shot. Starting at 1:28 Benjamin tells Elaine about the 'older woman'. Both Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson are wet – tying them together. As Elaine turns to look at her mom the camera loses focus on her. As she comes back into focus it dawns on her who Benjamin is talking about. Very metaphoric. The scene is set up so well there is no need to cut away to Mrs. Robinson.

Of course cutting style also depends on what the director dictates. I choose a scene from Ice Age 4 to show my thinking on cutting. In this scene Manny and Diego previously tried to communicate with the little hyraxes. They want them to help them to steal the pirates ship and take it home.They don't succeed so Sid asks to take a stab at it.

Start with a long shot to set up the players and the layout of the set.

Cut in close to show who Sid is talking to.

Cut to a low angle on Sid to show it is from the hyrax point of view. He will be performing for them.

Reaction shot. I shot this wide to show the other hyraxes reaction too.

New angle on sid as he crawls up to a log.

Sid rubs the log. It represents the pirate's ship.

Sid reacts to something of screen.

Up shot on Sid doning a costume. He's playing the part of Captain Gutt.

Since Manny and Diego have their doubts about Sid I cut to their reaction for comedy.

Since Sid is acting out a "stage play" I kept this at a medium shot.

New Idea, new shot.

Sid pops up as Diego.

Cut wide to show action.

Reaction shot.

Keeping the flat staging for the next gag.

Pan forward to reveal...

Sid as Manny.

Cut to Sid as Ellie. I put her in the corner because she is sad and thinks Manny will never return.

Wide shot here to show the adsurdity of what Sid is doing and that he is all by himself.

Back to Sid's play.

Ellie runs.

Sid runs.

Manny's reaction.

Ellie running.

Sid running. I picked up the cutting pace here to show 'Ellie' running to 'Manny".

Manny's reaction.

Cut in for the gag.

Down shot on Hyraxes.

 

Keep the focal point of your storyboards continuous from shot to shot. I put a blue dot over the focal point in these panels to illustrate. You don't want the audiences eye to move too far across the screen to see what you are showing them.

Avoid jump cuts.

 

When you have two or more characters talking to each other camera placement is critical. You don’t want to break the 180 rule.

 

These rules can be broken but you need to know what you are doing so you don’t confuse the audience. Action sequences often break the 180 rule but have specific reasons behind it.

Jump cuts can be useful when you want to jar the audience. Suppose you were doing sequence where someone was going in and out of consciousness. To get the audience to feel what the character was feeling you could do jump cut and then it would be very effective. It would feel like losing bits of time as you do when you go unconscious.