Jump cuts are used very frequently nowadays, especially by beginners. Most tend to record videos using a single camera and from a fixed perspective, so when the video is cut it invariably is with a jump cut – whether that was the intention or not.
The problem with jump cuts however is the fact that they are very jarring. When you cut from a point in the video to a point later on in the same video, most of the scene remains the same except the subject and a few other elements that seem to ‘jump’ out of position. That is distracting for viewers, and is the reason why it is normally only used situationally.
If you are cutting single-camera videos recorded from a fixed perspective, you may feel like your options are limited. That being said there are ways that you can hide jump cuts and make them much less jarring:
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Cutaway to a different video
The main way that jump cuts are hidden is by using a cutaway. Instead of directly cutting to a point later in the same video, you could cut to a different video or even an image.
To take full advantage of cutaways, you should make use of the additional context they provide. On top of that you may want to use an L cut or J cut for the cutaway itself, to make the audio flow smoothly.
Using cutaways to hide jump cuts is only an option if you do have another video or image that you can cut to. Try to avoid ‘forcing’ a cutaway, as that can be just as jarring.
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Reframe the same video
If a cutaway isn’t an option, you could hide a jump cut by reframing the video. That is normally done by cropping it, so that the composition is sufficiently different that the jump cut isn’t as jarring and it looks more like a standard ‘hard’ cut instead.
The fact that you are cropping the video will affect is resolution however, and therefore its quality. That is why as a rule you should crop it as little as possible, while still making its composition look different.
In some cases it can help to shoot at a higher resolution than you require. For example if you are recording a video in 4K you can reframe different parts of it to 1080p without any noticeable loss of quality.
As you can imagine it will take time and practice to learn how to cut videos in this way effectively. It would be a good idea to experiment with it, and for example you could use Movavi Video Editor to try both ways of hiding jump cuts.
Although neither option will make your cuts as seamless or smooth as a cut on action or match cut, they will make it much less distracting for viewers. Overall that should help you to produce videos that are more engaging, and able to keep viewers focused for longer.
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