Editing

Continuity System

• Classical/Continuity Editing: editing a sequence of shots to preserve the fluidity of an action without actually showing the whole action.

• Sequence: the sum of several shots that compose an organic whole.

• Take: number assigned to an uninterrupted scene each time it is shot. Each take should be shot with the exact same camera angle and onscreen action for editing purposes.

• 180 degree rule: for audiences to understand the orientation of characters in space, shoot only on one side of the actors.

• Two-shot: for audiences to understand the orientation of characters in space, shoot only on one side of the actors.

• Shot-reverse-shot: for audiences to understand the orientation of characters in space, shoot only on one side of the actors.

• Cutaway: a shot that cuts from the primary subject of focus to another person/object related to the action.

• Jump Cut: when a subject (usually a person) appears to jump from one position to the next during a cut.

• Match Cut: A continuity cut that splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted.

Transitions

• Dissolve: a gradual transition from shot to shot made by fading one image into the next

• Dynamic Cut: category of transitions including the cross zoom or whip pan that use quick movement to cut between shots, creating a sense of urgency or engery.  

• Fade to Black/White:   the first shot is visually separated from the second by a dissolve to and from black or white video, giving the impression that time has passed between the two shots.

• Hard Cut: most common form of transition in which the first shot is immediately replaced by the next. By imparting no direct meaning, hard cuts leave room for the viewer as to how both shots relate.

• Wipe: transition in which a second image, framed in some geometric shape, gradually replaces all or part of the first one.