Shot 1Shot 2Shot 3Music · V is picture, A is sound
01
Hard cut
One shot ends, the next one starts. No effect, no blend. It’s the cut you see most, so much that you stop noticing it.
Where you see it: Everywhere: vlogs, tutorials, podcasts, gaming videos. If a video has no style to its cutting at all, it’s mostly hard cuts.
Try this: Cut a little earlier than feels comfortable. Most first drafts hold each shot a beat too long.
Our takeThe humble hard cut does most of the work in any good edit. A fancy transition is often covering for a cut that wasn’t timed right.
02
Jump cut
A cut between two moments of the same shot, so the person seems to jump forward in time. You lose the pauses and the “umm”s and keep the energy.
Where you see it: Talking-head YouTube is built on it: commentary, video essays, “day in my life” vlogs, reaction videos.
Try this: Add a small zoom on every other jump (around 110%) so it feels like a choice, not a glitch.
Our takeWe love them, in moderation. A jump on every sentence starts to feel like being shouted at. When a moment matters, leave the breath in.
03
J-cut
You hear the next shot before you see it. The sound leads, the picture follows. On a timeline the audio sticks out to the left, like the bottom of a J.
Where you see it: Documentaries and story-driven channels use it to pull you into a new scene: a voice or a sound starts while you’re still looking at the last shot.
Try this: Lead the sound by half a second to a second. Longer than that and it starts to feel like a mistake.
Our takeThe most underrated cut on YouTube. It makes a video feel produced, and nobody can quite say why.
04
L-cut
The opposite of a J-cut: the picture changes, but you keep hearing the last shot for a moment. The audio trails off to the right, like an L.
Where you see it: Interviews and podcast clips: someone keeps talking while we cut to the person listening, or to the thing they’re talking about.
Try this: Use it to show a reaction. Cutting to the listener while the speaker finishes their line is often the funniest moment.
Our takeA favourite for interviews and podcasts. The reaction is often better than the answer.
05
Cutaway (B-roll)
You leave the main shot for a moment to show something else, then come back. The voice keeps going underneath.
Where you see it: Tech reviews, cooking videos and explainers: the host says “the screen is really bright” and we cut to the screen.
Try this: Cutaways also hide jump cuts. If an edit in the voice looks rough, cover it with a shot of what they’re talking about.
Our takeIf you say it, show it. A talking head can lose people; a two-second cutaway wins them back.
06
Match cut
Two different shots joined by something they share: a shape, a movement, a colour or a sound. The match makes the jump between them feel smooth, and often clever.
Where you see it: Travel videos and short films love it: a door closes in one city and opens in another, a coffee cup turns into the moon.
Try this: Line the matching thing up in the same spot of the frame in both shots. That’s what sells it.
Our takeHard to plan and easy to overdo. One great match cut beats five forced ones.
07
Cut on action
You cut in the middle of a movement and finish it in the next shot. The eye follows the movement and barely notices the cut.
Where you see it: Gaming and sports highlights, skate and dance videos, and any “making of” where hands are busy.
Try this: Cut about a third of the way into the move, then let the second shot finish it.
Our takeWhen it’s right, nobody notices it. That’s the point.
08
Smash cut
A sudden cut from one mood to the opposite one, usually loud to quiet or calm to chaos. It works because it’s abrupt.
Where you see it: Comedy channels and memes run on it: “This will be easy,” then a smash cut to everything on fire.
Try this: Make the sound do the work. A hard stop in the music, or a jump in volume, lands the joke.
Our takeComedy lives or dies on the exact frame. One frame late and the joke is gone.
09
Cross-cutting
Cutting back and forth between two things happening at the same time, so they build together.
Where you see it: Challenge videos and races (two teams, two cars, two players), and trailers that build up to a big moment.
Try this: Make the clips shorter each time you switch. It speeds up the pace without anyone noticing why.
Our takeGreat for tension, but it turns into noise if it never pays off. Know where the two stories meet before you start.
10
Montage
Lots of short shots in a row, usually set to music, to squeeze a lot of time into a few seconds.
Where you see it: Training arcs, travel recaps, “a year in 60 seconds”, and the intro of almost every creator’s channel trailer.
Try this: Cut on the beat for the big moments and off it for the rest, so it doesn’t feel like a metronome.
Our takeMontages are where editors show off. That’s fine, as long as it still tells a story.
Putting it together
Most good edits mix all of these. A ten-minute video might be mostly hard cuts and jump cuts, with J-cuts into each new section, cutaways to show what’s being talked about, and one smash cut for the joke people will remember.
Next time you watch a video you love, try spotting the cuts. Once you start seeing them, you can’t stop.
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