Cut Aways -- Kronos
[Here is a comment by Kronos It is much too important to be buried as a comment, so I am reposting it as a stand-alone. I will later post about how I am using it to revised the shot lists. --SE]
You’ve probably thought about this but since I didn’t see it in the blog entry I thought it might be worth mentioning how valuable cut away shots can be.
A cut away is a shot which does not include the actor or only a small detail of the actor. It might be a close up of an object or a shot of the scenery, something that relates to the story.
The value of the cut away is that it lets you change shots easily and can often save a sequence where you want to move from one take to another but to do so directly won’t work. The actor may be in a different position and a direct cut would be a jump cut where the position would suddenly change and be jarring to the viewer.
Student filmmakers usually don’t get it, don’t understand the value of having cut away shots until they get into the edit. For instance, the top of take 1 is excellent but then the actor flubs a line. The lines are fine in take 3 but there is no way to cut between them without a jump cut. If only there were a shot of the clock on the table by the bed, they could cut to that for a second or two and then come back to take 3 and no one would notice the switch.
Potential cut away shots for the Boy Fishing
CU of letter on the seat next to driver.
Drivers POV of hands on steering wheel and the road ahead
CU of fishing pole leaning against pier
CU of letter in hand
CU of fish flopping on pier
Characters POV of Hobo Village
Close shot on oil drum with fire
Wide shot of man standing on pier
Wide shot of boy fishing
These are just suggestions for possible cut away shots. There are an infinite number of such shots and the trick is just to remember to shoot them. Best to include suggested shots in the shot list so that the director will remember to include them. They are usually quick and easy to do and well worth the effort.
Having said that I should point out that I forgot to include any cut away shots in the Lip Flap shoot and there were places I could have used them. One short sequence was cut because I couldn’t make the angles match with a direct cut. It would have been easy to do if I’d included a few cut aways.
You’ve probably thought about this but since I didn’t see it in the blog entry I thought it might be worth mentioning how valuable cut away shots can be.
A cut away is a shot which does not include the actor or only a small detail of the actor. It might be a close up of an object or a shot of the scenery, something that relates to the story.
The value of the cut away is that it lets you change shots easily and can often save a sequence where you want to move from one take to another but to do so directly won’t work. The actor may be in a different position and a direct cut would be a jump cut where the position would suddenly change and be jarring to the viewer.
Student filmmakers usually don’t get it, don’t understand the value of having cut away shots until they get into the edit. For instance, the top of take 1 is excellent but then the actor flubs a line. The lines are fine in take 3 but there is no way to cut between them without a jump cut. If only there were a shot of the clock on the table by the bed, they could cut to that for a second or two and then come back to take 3 and no one would notice the switch.
Potential cut away shots for the Boy Fishing
CU of letter on the seat next to driver.
Drivers POV of hands on steering wheel and the road ahead
CU of fishing pole leaning against pier
CU of letter in hand
CU of fish flopping on pier
Characters POV of Hobo Village
Close shot on oil drum with fire
Wide shot of man standing on pier
Wide shot of boy fishing
These are just suggestions for possible cut away shots. There are an infinite number of such shots and the trick is just to remember to shoot them. Best to include suggested shots in the shot list so that the director will remember to include them. They are usually quick and easy to do and well worth the effort.
Having said that I should point out that I forgot to include any cut away shots in the Lip Flap shoot and there were places I could have used them. One short sequence was cut because I couldn’t make the angles match with a direct cut. It would have been easy to do if I’d included a few cut aways.
posted by Selby Evans at 6:27 AM
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