Jump cuts: an old problem is back

I was very lucky in that I learned to edit from a CBS producer. And the very first lesson he taught me was that jump cuts are taboo. I was very proud that in all my years as a reporter, a single jump cut never hit the air.

But now it seems that every resume tape I see has jump cuts, and in this era of non-linear editing that is simply inexcusable. Jump cuts are jarring to the viewer and label you as an inexperiened editor. However, I have also discovered that many young people simply don't know they are breaking editing rules, or even know what a jump cut is.

So, let's go back to lesson 1 of editing 101. What is a jump cut?

A jump cut is an editing sequence that is physically impossible. In other words two or more shots that simply cannot occur in a natural timeline.

Common example: Your first shot is a man loading plywood into his car in preparation for a hurricane. You then directly cut to a sound bite of the man in front of his car. He has, in effect, "jumped" from the back of the car to the front.

Another example: You show a politician speaking on the floor of the legislature. You then directly cut to a shot of the politician in his office. He has "jumped" from the floor to the office.

This not only breaks editing rules, but it just looks awkward. Especially when there are three very easy ways to avoid these. Cutaways, dissolves, and getting your subject out of frame.

For the first example, you need a shot between the plywood loading and the sound bite. You could use a cutaway (shot of the Home Depot sign); you could follow the plywood into the car and get the man out of the shot completely; or you could use a quick dissolve, which allows you to "soft cut" between the two original shots. (A dissolve implies a time change.)

Unless you are using a dissolve, you need cutaways, and you should be thinking about these when shooting your story. They will make your editing much easier and your story will look a lot better.

Next week we'll talk about "sequences" and how to "build" a sequence of edits so that you have an impressive bit of shooting and editing in your packages.