Explore different types of cuts in film with Adobe Premiere Pro.

Different types of cuts in film.

Cuts in film are particularly effective in illustrating the passage of time, whether by jumping forward, compressing events, or smoothly transitioning between moments. Different types of film cuts shape the audience’s understanding of the story, reinforcing themes, emotions, and connections between scenes.

Types of cuts in film:

• Straight cuts: The most basic transition, moving from one shot to the next. This keeps the story moving naturally.
• Jump cuts: Used to skip ahead in time within a scene, creating a sense of urgency, disorientation, or efficiency in storytelling.
• Match cuts: These cuts link two visually similar shots, often connecting different times, locations, or ideas in a meaningful way.
• Smash cuts: Sudden, jarring transitions that shift dramatically from one scene to another, often used for shock or contrast.
• Cross-cutting: Alternates between two or more scenes happening simultaneously, building tension or drawing parallels between events.

In addition to individual cuts within scenes, the editing process as a whole involves assembling footage into a coherent narrative.

• The rough cut is the first major edited version, where scenes are arranged but not refined.
• The director’s cut incorporates the filmmaker’s vision before final adjustments, and may be different than the final theatrical version.

Straight types of cuts in film.

The straight cut — also known as the hard cut, standard cut, or A to B cut — is one of the most basic transitions to get to the next shot in the same scene. It’s simply a transition from one shot to another, with no effects. Straight cuts are the foundation of continuity editing which is the process of maintaining a film’s cohesiveness throughout its runtime.

While there are examples of straight cuts in just about every film ever made, don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a generic piece of editing. Straight cuts can create jarring connections between moments in a scene, build the foundations of a montage, or provide a connective thread to maintain the 180-degree rule.

“Most of the emotion in a scene is often concentrated in reaction rather than action, particularly in comedy,” says cinematographer Steven Bernstein. The straight cut forms the connective tissue between action and reaction. The Cut tool in Adobe Premiere Pro is the simplest way to cut and join clips for compelling straight cuts.

The jump cut.

A more advanced version of the straight cut is the jump cut. To create a jump cut transition, remove a section of one continuous shot, so the audience has the feeling of lurching forward through time. This cut is often used to condense time, create a sense of unease, or emphasize a character’s mental state.

Match cuts.

A match cut is a transition that connects two shots through similar visual elements, movement, or composition, creating a link between different times, places, or ideas. This type of cut is often used to establish continuity, draw symbolic connections, or create a smooth transition between scenes.

In Blade Runner 2049 (2017), a match cut transitions from a close-up of K’s eye to an overhead shot of a landscape, mirroring the shape and color of the iris. This visually striking edit not only maintains fluidity but also reinforces the film’s themes of identity and perception.

Smash cuts.

A smash cut is a dynamic film editing technique that moves the story forward through abrupt scene transitions. Smash cuts impact narrative flow by building tension, adding a comedic punch, or increasing the pace of the story.

Cross-cutting film.

Crosscutting is an editing technique that alternates between two or more scenes simultaneously, building tension or drawing connections between events. This method keeps the audience engaged by showing parallel action, a technique commonly used in chase scenes or moments of dramatic suspense.

A specific form of crosscutting is parallel editing. These cross cuts jump between two narratives happening simultaneously for the audience. Flashbacks commonly use the parallel editing technique.

A similar technique is a cutaway shot, which briefly shifts focus to something outside the main action, providing additional context or emphasizing key details. While crosscutting moves between separate but related events, a cutaway typically returns to the original scene, helping to control pacing and highlight essential visual elements.

J cuts and L cuts using sound transition.

Some cuts in film can be so jarring visually that they need sound to accompany the leap. This is very common in action sequences, where poor sound mixing can create a cacophony of sound and motion. Ensuring that each shot leads into the next, in terms of both visuals and sound, is essential.

For example, if a character is running down train tracks with the camera pointed at their back, one way to build tension would be to layer the train whistle over the running shot and then cut to a train barreling down the tracks. Having the same sound work across both sequences keeps them conceptually linked.

These types of video transitions are referred to as J and L cuts. This refers to the shape of the audio and video tracks overlapping in the edit. In a J cut, you hear the audio from the following track in the current track, like in the train example above. In an L cut, the sound from the previous shot overlaps into the next shot. The L cut is less common but can also work to great effect.