A smash cut is a technique in film and other moving picture media where one scene abruptly cuts to another for aesthetic, comedic, narrative, or emotional purpose. To this end, the smash cut usually occurs at a crucial moment in a scene where a cut would not be expected, manipulating viewers' expectations by changing the order of a scene. To heighten the impact of the cut, a disparity in the type of scene on either side of the cut is often present, going from a fast-paced frenzied scene to a tranquil one, or going from a pleasant scene to a tense one, for example.
Smash cuts are sometimes defined as a subtype of
jump cut
A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...
.
For example, a smash cut could be used in a murder scene: the killer brings a knife plunging down into his victim, and just before the blade pierces the skin, the scene is suddenly replaced with a non-violent use of a cutting edge, such as the chopping of vegetables. Smash cuts are often used when a character wakes up from a
nightmare to simulate the jarring nature of that experience.
Smash cutting can also be used to comedic effect: for example, directly after a prediction is made, cutting to the future showing the prediction to have been humorously, and often outlandishly, wrong.
One specific variety of smash cut, which depicts a given character resolutely declaring their intentions immediately before a cut to a scene depicting the character doing the exact opposite, is known in the United States as a Gilligan cut, so named for the TV show ''
Gilligan's Island
''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...
''; and in the United Kingdom as a bicycle cut, so named for a scene from ''
Last of the Summer Wine
''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...
''.
See also
*
Jump cut
A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...
*
Match cut
In film, a match cut is a cut from one shot to another in which the composition of the two shots are matched by the action or subject and subject matter. For example, in a duel a shot can go from a long shot on both contestants via a cut to a ...
References
Film and video terminology
Cinematic techniques
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