After you've shot all of the raw footage for a short or feature film, you can start putting it together in the editing studio to create a cohesive cinematic experience. The editing stage of the post-production process is critical. The process of editing film and video can be time-consuming and intricate, including several rounds of shaping and refining to achieve the director's vision.

11 Different Cuts in Video Post-Production

To compile television show or film footage, film editors employ a variety of cuts and editing techniques, including:

1. The hard cut, also known as the standard cut

Is an editing technique that cuts from one clip to the next without using a transition, resulting in clean edits. Because utilizing a hard cut to transition between scenes can be visually unpleasant for the audience, most hard cuts are contained within a scene.

2. Cut to the chase

A jump cut is an editing method in which two consecutive shots are chopped between. The camera location in these photos does not vary (or varies only slightly), but the subjects do, giving the impression that they are hopping about the frame. The effect of jumping forward in time is achieved by using jump cuts.

3. A match cut

Is an editing transition in which visual components at the end of one scene are visually or aurally matched with elements at the start of the next scene.

4. Split edits

Are editing techniques in which the video and audio transition at distinct periods. In a split edit, the audio from the following scene comes before the video or the other way around. Split edits are used by editors to combine conversational dialogue segments with response shots.

5. J-cut

A J-cut is a split edit variation in which the video from a scene transitions before the audio that corresponds to it.

6. L-cut

An L-cut is a split edit variation in which the audio from a particular scene transition before the video that corresponds to it.

7. Cut-ins

Cut-ins highlight a specific section of a scene by providing a close-up or detailed perspective of a single point of emphasis. Cut-ins can add to the fluidity and continuity of a scene while also enhancing the atmosphere or comprehension of a moment.

8. Montage

This is an editing technique that combines a succession of brief images or clips into a single sequence, which is frequently set to music. Montage sequences are a way of presenting a lot of information to the audience at once, and they often imply the passage of time or numerous simultaneous events.

9. Cross-cut

Also known as parallel editing, this editing technique alternates between the action in two concurrent scenes as it unfolds. Cross-cutting is a technique used by editors to make it appear as if numerous scenes are taking place at the same time.

10. A cutaway shot

Inserts another scene into a continuous cut, occasionally going back to the previous scene. Cutaways allow the audience to observe what's going on outside of the present action, providing a different perspective or background, or providing a laugh.

11. Cut slash

Is a quick transition from one scene to the next. Smash cuts happen out of nowhere, sometimes even interrupting a character's speech in the middle of a phrase. A smash cut is ideal for contrasting the tone of two scenes, concluding a sequence with suspense, or establishing comic irony.

Editing is one of the most misunderstood aspects of filmmaking by outsiders and amateurs alike. Many people believe that editing consists solely of deleting undesirable clips and shortening them. That may be accurate on the surface, but we get closer to the art of editing when we turn those assumptions into questions. What does it mean to have a poor day? How much should I reduce the length of that clip? These fundamental questions, and the answers to them, will have an impact on how people consume information.

Whether you're using Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Resolve, or Avid to edit, there is a slew of crucial decisions to make that will either help or hurt your story.