Glossary: Quick cut
A rapid transition from one shot to another. Typically, quick cuts are intended to increase tension and/or to be mildly disruptive to the narrative. In the first example, the rapid pace of the editing lends urgency to Dallas's hunt for the alien: the twelve shots below appear over about twenty seconds (averaging less than two seconds per shot). In the second example, quick cuts to different angles of Elliott screaming reflect his alarm after seeing E.T. for the first time.
From Alien
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Frame 1: Computer screen |
Frame 2: Ripley
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Frame 3: Dallas
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Frame 4: Ladder |
Frame 5: Dallas
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Frame 6: Computer screen
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Frame 7: Dallas |
Frame 8: Parker and Lambert
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Frame 9: Dallas
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Frame 10: Ash |
Frame 11: Ripley
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Frame 12: Dallas
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From E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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Frame 1: Elliott screaming (angle 1) |
Frame 2: Elliott screaming (angle 2)
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Frame 3: Elliott screaming (angle 3)
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