 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Fast cutting" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Fast cutting is afilm editing technique which refers to several consecutiveshots of a brief duration (e.g. 3 seconds or less).[1] It can be used to quickly convey much information, or to imply either energy or chaos. Fast cutting is also frequently used when shooting dialogue between two or more characters, changing the viewer's perspective to either focus on the reaction of another character's dialog, or to bring to attention the non-verbal actions of the speaking character.
One famous example of fast cutting is the shower scene inAlfred Hitchcock's filmPsycho (1960).
More recent examples include thecan-can scene inBaz Luhrmann'sMoulin Rouge! (2001).[2]
The filmMind Game makes extensive use of fast cutting to convey hundreds of short scenes in the space of fifteen minutes.
InRun Lola Run, fast cutting is used to quickly tell stories about minor characters to show how the casual actions of the protagonists have profound impact on what happens to them.
In various moments in theSaw movies, fast cutting is used frequently during trap scenes, which represent their frantic struggle to escape the trap.
DirectorMichael Bay makes extensive use of fast-cutting in many of his feature films. He uses the technique most prominently during action sequences, in which it is used to make the action more energetic and intense.
Ahip hop montage is a subset of fast cutting used infilm to portray a complex action through a rapid series of simple actions infast motion, accompanied bysound effects. The technique was first given its name byDarren Aronofsky, who used the technique in his filmsPi andRequiem for a Dream to portray drug use. According to the director's commentary ofRequiem for a Dream, the hip hop montage is used in film as a sample is used in hip hop, with a few moments of film or video, respectively, repeated throughout the work for effect.[3] The technique is derived from thehip hop culture of the 1990s andjump cuts first pioneered in theFrench new wave.
It was used earlier inBob Fosse'sAll That Jazz andPaul Thomas Anderson'sBoogie Nights.Guy Ritchie also used the technique inSnatch to portray transcontinental travel. The work ofEdgar Wright, most notably in his collaboration withSimon Pegg (Spaced,Shaun of the Dead,Hot Fuzz, andThe World's End) uses the technique for comedic effect.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt used the technique extensively inDon Jon (2013) to portray the main character's habits.