Hard Cut硬切

The default for almost everything, especially dialogue and action.

hard cut, no dissolve or fade, direct cut between shots with continuous action direction.

The technique comes first, followed by the scene, action, performance and duration. Paste it straight into a video model and swap in your own characters and plot.

Hard cut, a direct switch between two shots, no fade, no dissolve, the direction of movement continuous. Shot one: a teenage boy in a classroom swings his backpack onto his shoulder and walks out of frame to the right; hard cut to shot two: the same boy runs in from the left onto a basketball court and catches a ball flying toward him. 6 seconds, a crisp cut, both shots moving the same direction.

• Adding a fade to every shot softens the rhythm.
• Action going in opposite directions on either side of the cut disorients the audience.

Make sure direction and eyelines carry over first, then think about whether you need a transition trick.