TUTORIAL: 5 Essential Cuts You Should Master as a Film Editor

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As an editor, if you want to make the cut, then you’ve got to know your cuts.

Editing is an arduous, time-consuming, and complicated craft that challenges both hemispheres of your brain as well as your assertion that, yes, filmmaking and editing is something you want to do for the rest of your life. (Pretty sure I’ve wanted to quit after almost every project I’ve ever edited.) However, one thing that makes the process a little easier and go a little more smoothly is knowing your editorial tools like the back of your hand, namely the types of cuts that you’ll use most often in your work. The team over at Filmora breaks down five of them in the video below, offering explanations of what they are, what they do, and how to use them when you head into post.

Now, before we get into all the fancy schmancy cuts (they’re really not that fancy), I think it’s important to first establish what a standard cut is and how it functions. For most of you, I know, this is like the first day of Remedial Editing for First-Time Beginners 101, but stay with me. A standard cut is simply cutting from one clip to another. That’s it. There aren’t any transitions or cool visual tricks. It’s literally: Clip A plays, ends, and then is followed by the beginning of Clip B. So, why are these cuts important to talk about? Well, because they’ll most likely make up 90% of all of your edits, and knowing how to use them correctly is integral to becoming a better, more professional editor.