Jump Cuts

A jump cut is a technique in film editing where a single continuous sequential shot is broken into two parts, with footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. There are five different applications of this technique:

Style

The first jump cut example is to simply create a stylish presentation. Think of the opening character introductions in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and how the jump cuts create a rhythm and style that lures us into this darkly comedic yet dangerous criminal underworld. We can also look at Terrence Malick’s films like The Tree of Life, a film presented as more of a memory and/or dream. In this case, we can see how to use jump cuts to create a lyrical or poetic narrative that isn’t beholden to strict and rigid structures.

Energy

The second jump cut example is used to create energy. Consider Run, Lola, Run and how our main character’s frantic race against time is accelerated by jump cuts. Or what about Mad Max: Fury Road where the action is adrenalized by cutting out nearly imperceptible frames.

Emotion

Closely related to this jump cut technique is when they are used to accent a particular mental state or emotion. Usually, this is a frenetic or fragmented frame of mind, which is a perfect opportunity for some creative jump cut tricks. Think of the moment in The Departed when Billy realizes his cover may have been blown. He packs his go-bag in a fit of panic and with some extremely subtle jump cuts, we can better understand his urgency.

Montage

The montage is also an opportunity to use jump cuts. As one of the primary benefits of the montage is to condense time and what better way to do that than with a jump cut? In Spielberg’s bleak Holocaust drama Schindler’s List, we have a short montage constructed solely with jump cuts. As Oskar interviews new secretaries, we use jump cut editing, along with blocking and staging, to tell the whole story.

Axial Cut

Finally, in our last jump cut example, we have the axial cut. An axial cut is more of a subtype of the jump cut as it doesn’t jump forward in time but rather towards or away from the subject along the same axis. Alfred Hitchcock used this technique often including the first moment of pure panic in Psycho as Marion is attacked in the shower.