I deleted the section on literature. I've never heard that expression used in that way and it strikes me as idiosyncratic. If I'm wrong, feel free to put it back in. Deleuze 20:30, 15 May 2005 (UTC)
Confusing to a layman
I've had a primer on cinematography at best, so the jump cut, which I may have never seen before (the description of a jump cut doesn't evoke for me anything I've seen), is very hard for me to comprehend from this article. It probably won't be easy to write about so visual a technique in order that a layman can visualize it without seeing an actual jump cut, but if someone could, I (and probably others down the line) would really appreciate it.
I can only picture three techniques that may be this 'jump cut' trick. The first would be when the current scene slides off the screen while the next scene slides onto the screen to replace the old scene. The second would be going straight from one scene to the next without any sort of transitional blackout. The last would be overlapping a fade out/fade in. However, I can't be sure article's talking about any of these.
This article also mentions the political use of the jump cut, but even with the example given, it's not terribly clear how this technique works to further a political message. The article says it turns your focus from the emotional content to the political message. That's fine, but why is this technique particularly good at it? It's alienating? Does that mean it fuels apathy or anger at the issue being discussed? I imagine reading the article on Brecht could clarify this, but one shouldn't have to read another big article when interested just on the jump cut and its uses. A better and/or more detailed explanation of its political utility would help this article.
- I have studied cinema and understand what a jump cut is. It is somewhat difficult to describe. Basically a jump cut is where a shot is taken of something. Say the shot shows a person enter the left of frame and walk across in from of the camera and then sit down on a seat in front of the camera. In a jump cut a section of the film is cut out, and the beginning section joined to the end section, so the person will enter the frame, walk a few steps, and then instantly be in the seated position. The camera position does not move but the middle section of the shot is taken out. People often call any abrupt cut between two different shots a jump cut but this is technically not what a jump cut is. Asa01 07:21, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
Still needs clean-up
I've just reinstated the clean-up template after it was deleted. Why? The examples in this article are random ones (e.g., The New World) and poorly explained. And much of the grammar is clumsy (e.g., "The term jump cut is frequently used to describe any abrupt and noticeable edit cut in a film, however technically this is incorrect."). In my opinion, the whole piece needs to be overhauled and streamlined. --Jeremy Butler 12:41, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
- I don't think it's too bad. Some of the examples are less than ideal, as you say, but a little tweaking and copyediting would make this pretty servicable. I'll try to get around to doing some this weekend. Deleuze 13:59, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
I believe the first sentence is too limiting: "A jump cut is a cut in film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed, and the beginning and ends of the shot are then joined together." The two elements to be joined together could have originated from different takes.
The 2 examples in the first paragraph seem to be untypical.
Also, nothing is said of the technique of using multiple jump cuts in a sequence (often used in a scene with the character speaking directly to the camera, such as in Strange Days or Elisabeth).
I believe the part about the political use of the jump cut is unclear. It should either be clarified or removed. How does the jump cut serve a political use? How is it used in intellectual montage? What is a Brechtian technique?
I don't see how "any abrupt and noticeable edit cut in a film" applies specifically to the cut at the end of 2001's Dawn of Man sequence. It is important to point out the distinction between match cut and jump cut, but the first sentence of that paragraph is misleading.
Overall the article needs a lot of clarification.