Whether writing a screenplay or cutting in the editing booth, you’re always looking to connect two scenes.
Those connections are visually linked since film and TV are visual mediums. When they match or have similar shapes or colors in common, we call those cuts a ‘match on action’ cut or a ‘match cut.’
Today, we’re going to define that term, look at some examples, and explain why filmmakers use them.
Let’s dive in.
Match on Action Cut Definition
A match-on action cut is an editing technique where from one shot to another view matches the first shot’s action.
For example, you could have one character lifting a cup for a sip in one scene and cut to another character drinking out of a cup in the next.
Why Use a Match Cut on Action
Filmmakers and writers use these kinds of cuts to help provide a sense of editing continuity and consistency. It can also emphasize an action or tie two characters together thematically.
Everything depends on how fast the cut is and what’s happening in each scene. It can speed things up, moving the narrative forward. Or it can slow them down, and allow us to drift into someone else’s life for a bit.
A final reason we use these cuts is to just completely hide that an edit was made. Our eyes follow movement, so by cutting on action within a scene, filmmakers can join two shots together without the cut being jarring or noticeable.
This allows them to change camera angles, condense time, or even hide stunt work, like doing a Texas Switch, without disrupting the flow of the scene.
Many of your favorite films use match cuts in lots of different ways.
Let’s look at a few examples to unpack these theories.
Match Cut Examples
The most famous match cut in movie history is literally the lighting of a match in Lawrence of Arabia. We go from that match to the sunrise, which has the same colorations.
Another one I love is matching Vito Corleone’s mustache with a fade into an olive tree in Italy. It actually connects the character to his heritage and is so creative and done so slowly than it allows us to viscerally understand the connections.
My favorite match cut on action of all time is the bone in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which gets tossed in the air by one of man’s monkey ancestors as the first tool, and matches perfectly with a spaceship we created many millenia later.
Now that you understand what a match cut is, it’s time to put them into your work. You’ll see they have an uncanny ability to make the story flow and to assist you in mastering a visual medium.
I know you have your favorite cuts, and I want to hear about them.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
