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Jump Cut

 

This is the term used to describe an unnatural event happening within the scene. Each shot relates to the shot before it and after it. And so events have to happen logically as we go from shot to shot. One example is that a person is holding a book. On the very next cut they are not holding the book. What we see is that the book magically disappears. Unless the person is a magician, this is a jump cut.

One famous jump cut happened on a comedy sitcom. A couple was sitting down for dinner. As the scene progressed, the candles on the table would sometimes be lit and sometimes be out. As the camera would show the individuals talking, you could see that the candles were lit, then the scene would cut to the other person and instantly, the same candles were burned out. What happened is that the studio video taped the scene twice. During one of the tapings the candle went out. In editing, the editor combined the two scenes using the best shots from both scenes. He did not consider the candles and mixed the shot with lit and unlit candles. So we saw the candles magically go out and light up.

Jump cuts occur because of poor editing or lack of consistency while shooting. Remember that each shot relates to the shot before and after it.


Video w/ Jump Cuts

Video w/o Jump Cuts

 

Tip: Jump cuts can be used to give the experience of life being out of order. Usually a music video will make a statement by having events happen out of sequence. This gives a feeling of disorder.

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