There used to be an unwritten rule in video editing – ‘Avoid jump cuts at all costs’. But from cinematic montages to YouTube, the jump cut is more popular than ever. So should it be avoided? Is it good or is it bad? What is a jump cut and how do you do it well? Let’s find out.
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A JUMP CUT
A jump cut in video editing is a cut between two shots of the same subject from the same/similar angle, from two different points in time. This makes it look like the action ‘jumps’ forward in time.
It’s one of the most basic editing techniques and it’s super simple to do, but if you want to do it well it takes a little more practice and skill. So, let’s see how we can perfect your jump cut technique.
WHAT DOES A JUMP CUT LOOK LIKE
Let’s look at a jump cut example. This is a one-take shot from a music video I directed. The singer continuously walks towards the camera as the camera moves back. The action is uninterrupted.
Now if we cut a section out of the clip on the timeline and delete the gap that was left behind, we have a jump cut.
Now it takes less time for her to reach her destination, but the action ‘jumps’ as we playback over the cut and jump between the two moments in time.
It also gives the appearance that the focus of the shot ‘jumps’ to another position in the frame.
A JUMP CUT IS NOT A MATCH CUT
A jump cut is a type of cut in film that is often confused with a match cut. A jump cut cuts to the same subject in the same scene, during the same timeframe. A match cut cuts to another shot that looks similar but is usually from a different scene.
There’s a scene in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ where the ape throws a bone up in the air and the shot cuts to a spaceship which has a similar shape to the bone. This is a match cut. However, there is a cut just before this transition that IS a jump cut. You can see the difference below.
All rights Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
WHO CREATED THE JUMP CUT
Georges Méliès is credited as the “father of the jump cut”[1]. Much like most of the best editing decisions I have ever made, he discovered it by accident. He then decided to use it as a special effect in his 1896 film ‘The Vanishing Lady’.
The jump cut was made popular during the 1950s and 60s by the filmmakers of the French New Wave. The most notable film of which was Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film Breathless, edited by Cécile Decugis.
“I remember very clearly — how I invented this famous way of cutting, that is now used in commercials: we took all the shots and systematically cut out whatever could be cut, while trying to maintain some rhythm.“ [2] – Jean-Luc Godard
In the quote, he makes it sound like he invented the jump cut on purpose. Well, that’s not exactly true. Godard’s original edit was way too long. The producer told him he had to cut some stuff out. So, when re-editing the car scene, he and his editor flipped a coin to see which character they should take out. Belmondo (the driver) was taken out. The remaining shots of Seberg (the passenger) were shunted together. Voilà! This gave us the jump cut sequence that has had film critics going wild ever since!
Funny thing is though, he was annoyed he had to make the film shorter so one of the reasons he did what his producer asked was to intentionally ruin the film [3]. Ha! Funny how the jump cut was invented and then also became popular unintentionally.
So yeah, you can kinda see why the unwritten rule was to avoid jump cuts. So, are they actually that bad?
WHY ARE JUMP CUTS BAD?
Jump cutting is often labelled as ‘bad’ but this isn’t 100% true.
Firstly, it’s important to know the difference between film editing and video editing:
- Film editing is editing narrative for movies and TV shows
- Video editing is basically everything else (i.e. TVCs & online content etc.)
The two serve different purposes and their audiences are accustomed to different styles of editing.
Whilst jump cuts in film editing are not technically ‘bad’, film editing is generally accepted as ‘good’ when the continuity flows and pulls your audience into the fictional world of the characters. Jump cuts break this flow and can sometimes pull the audience out of that fictional world which can be a bad thing.
In video editing, jump cuts are pretty much everywhere, from music videos to YouTuber vlogs to memes. The audience is used to seeing them and knows that what they are watching is highly stylised and fleeting. We’re rarely invested emotionally enough to find the cuts jarring. That’s why jump cuts in video editing can work well.
SO, ARE JUMP CUTS BAD OR ARE THEY GOOD?
Both. Sorry. It depends on the following:
- What you are editing
- What emotion you want from your audience
- What footage you have
In video editing pretty much anything goes. The audience is used to jump cuts now. Just don’t go so overboard you give your audience a migraine. With film editing it’s a lot harder to get right.
Here is a list of times you would want to use jump cuts in film and video editing.
WHEN TO USE JUMP CUTS IN FILM EDITING
Used well, a jump cut can trigger or enhance the exact emotion you want to get from your audience. Here’s some reasons why you might want to use a jump cut in your film:
- Because you want to bring attention to something
- Because you want to create a sense of unease
- To make your edit feel energetic
- To speed up the passing of time
- To have things disappear
- For artistic purposes (see Breathless)
WHEN TO USE JUMP CUTS IN VIDEO EDITING
Video editing uses jump cuts mainly in a stylistic manner, but not all the time. This means that you might want to use a jump cut in video editing for all of the reasons above, but also:
- Because you don’t have b-roll footage to cover the cut
- Because you need to cram a lot into a short duration
- To give the video energy
- To create a montage
- Because why the fuck not
Below are some examples of good jump cuts so you know how to be jump cutting.
GOOD EXAMPLES OF JUMP CUTS IN FILM
To bring attention to something:
‘Catch Me If You Can’ – All rights DreamWorks Pictures
To create a sense of urgency or disorientate:
To make your edit feel energetic:
To show the passing of time:
To scare:
GOOD EXAMPLES OF JUMP CUTS IN VIDEO
Cooking videos use jump cuts to great effect:
Almost every music video uses jump cuts these days. This one I made is edited using 100% jump cuts:
Almost every video on YouTube uses it.
Also, this is also a great example.
WHY DO YOUTUBERS USE JUMP CUTS
The reason jump cuts became so popular among vloggers is because a second camera is expensive. Also, shooting b-roll takes time, which is something YouTubers are short of. Jump cuts are a fast and easy transition to do.
HOW TO DO A JUMP CUT PERFECTLY
To create a seamless jump cut, the point where your eyes are focused should remain within a small area from shot to shot. If the focus of the shot moves around the frame a lot, it can become nauseating. You can see in the reference below how important a small focus area is to a successful jump cut.
All rights to Jackisanerd and DreamWorks Pictures
HOW TO AVOID JUMP CUTS
Jump cuts can be useful, but what if you want to avoid jump cuts in your edit? Here are some of the ways you can avoid unwanted jump cuts.
Before the edit:
- Use a second camera when recording dialogue
- Shoot some b-roll
- Film more angles and more cutaways
The more footage you have to play with, the more choice you have when it comes to smoothing jump cuts. Of course, by the time it comes to editing we can’t just magic extra footage from the shoot.
If you have to ‘fix it in post’:
- Reframe the footage
- Source archive footage to cover the cuts
- Use photos as b-roll
- Use a morph cut
- Lay graphics over the top
- Throw on some title cards
- Cry
If you’re new to video editing click here to find out How To Go Pro.
So, there you have it! You should now know:
- What a jump cut is
- The history of the jump cut
- When to use a jump cut
- How to create the perfect jump cut
But remember, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Can you think of any great examples of jump cuts that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.
References:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_cut
[2] Jean-Luc Godard, Introduction à une véritable histoire du cinéma (Paris: Albatros, 1980), p. 34
[3] Richard Raskin. Five explanations for the jump cuts in Godard’s BREATHLESS
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