Editing Cut
Editing is the second writing of a film. It decides the rhythm, what the audience knows and when they know it. The technical side — media management, proxies, the timeline — has to be so reliable that you never need to think about it.
- editing
- timeline
- types of cut
- pacing
- workflow
- proxies
- media management
What this section answers
- When do I need proxies?
- What are J-cuts and L-cuts?
- How should I organise footage so it can still be found years later?
Quick reference
| cut | what it does |
|---|---|
| cut on action | cutting in the middle of a movement hides the change of shot |
| J-cut | the sound of the next shot starts before its picture |
| L-cut | the sound of the previous shot carries on across the cut |
| jump cut | two similar shots, the subject jumps — a mistake or a style |
| cross-cutting | alternating between two storylines |
| match cut | joining shots through a similar shape, movement or sound |
Terms
- Timeline
- The workspace of an editing application: video tracks (V1, V2…) and audio tracks (A1, A2…) arranged in time.
- Timecode
- The address of a frame in the format HH:MM:SS:FF (hours, minutes, seconds, frames). At 29.97 and 59.94 fps, drop-frame timecode is also used, marked with a semicolon.
- Proxy
- A lightweight, lower-quality copy of the footage for smooth editing. At the finishing stage the project is relinked to the original files.
- J-cut / L-cut
- The sound of the next shot starts before its picture (J), or the sound of the previous shot carries on across the cut (L).
- Jump cut
- A cut between two almost identical shots in which the subject ‘jumps’. Either a continuity error or a deliberate style.
In preparation
Topics we are working on. They are not published yet — we would rather have fewer pages, but verified ones.
- Media management: folders, naming, metadata
- Proxy workflow step by step
- Pacing and rhythm in editing
- The timeline: tracks, nested sequences, exchange with other software (XML, AAF, EDL)
- Backups: the multiple-copies rule