· Usually when recording in order to
prepare for a cutting point between two consecutive shots such as cutting from
a wide shot in a scene to closer coverage- we vary both the size and angle of
the shot.
· Some filmmakers deliberately choose
not to vary the size and angle of the second shot which results in the cut
having a jarring effect, literally jumping in what often feels like an awkward
way from one shot to the next.
·
In the industry, in (film criticism,
universally) this is known as a jump cut.
·
Filmmakers use jump cuts for several
reasons:
-
Rebellion
-
French New Wave filmmakers used jump
cuts in the 50s to break from the traditional dominance of continuity editing.
-
Pace
-
Jump cuts can be used to add a sense
of speed to the sequence of events.
-
Psychological
-
Jump cuts can be used to suggest the
non-linear way the human mind works.
-
(Example: Breathless Jump Cuts, A
bout de soufflé Jean Luc Godard Car Scene. Rebellion.
This extract is from
the movie The Battleship Potemkin (1925), the creativity of Sergei Eisenstein; the
director of the movie, portrayed it in a whole new level. Using the method of
jump cuts Eisenstein turned a complete classic into a significant political
use. The disjointed cuts allowed us to be aware of reality and not the
unreality of the film experience in order for the audience to get the political
message that Sir Eisenstein clearly wanted to show. This is very different from
the other classical movies as this is not focused on the drama or emotion of
the narrative. The first scene is a canon firing then a series of jump cuts of
the statue of the angles, then we get a shot of a building exploding then the
jump cuts of the lion statue which was first ‘sleeping’ then it ‘stands up’
clearly giving the hint on the political message.
