Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
We will be convinced that these scenes are not taking place in the uninterrupted time of the
fi lm, but represent the beginning and end of a journey from which the middle has been
extracted, perhaps for the sake of expediency or to more quickly get to the important parts
of the story. Showing the girl spend 20 minutes riding from the school yard to her house
might be very boring and insignifi cant to the story. You should not let your story get bogged
down with inconsequential information. However, other times the story may require that you
show someone doing something that takes a long, long time.
Jump Cut
The boredom or weariness of a long drawn out action may be a central point in the story.
Rather than show the camera on someone as she is in the act of waiting all night you may
show jump cuts. Technically, a jump cut is simply a cut where the same character or image
moves abruptly from one shot to the next, sometimes breaking the fl ow of time and space.
If a person is waiting, there may be a shot of him sitting in a chair. Then the camera cuts
to the character slouched back in the chair. A third cut may have him bent over with his
elbows on his knees or up walking around in the room. This would create the feeling that
we are seeing short excerpts from a long, boring period of time. Jump cuts could be used
to speed up the portrayal of the duration of time while the audience still understands that
this represents a long wait.
