Types of Cut

MATCH CUT

Match cuts involve cutting from one shot to another, while suggesting continuity between the two. Both the shots compositional elements will more or less match, and it can be used to highlight a connection between the two elements or purely for visual purposes.

Example: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP4riIK0fa0

A primitive ape throws a bone into the air, where it cuts to a space craft of a similar shape and composition. This edit suggests a connection in how far the human race has come, from primitive tools to advanced tools like the space craft.


INTERCUTTING

This is where two scenes are shot in sequence, but presented by cutting back and forth between them. This creates a sense of two actions occurring in parallel time, in two different locations.

Example: Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)

This is a film set in Berlin during Hitler's rise. The change in political climate occurring in the film is represented by a dance scene that adds intercutting towards the end of the scene.

-A line of dancers perform while the MC throws out sexual innuendos to his audience; the change begins.
-The dancers tear off the flowers on their hats, spin their hats around, changing from flirtatious to militaristic, they change their steps to the Nazi march.
-It starts to intercut between the dancers and the home of a young Jewish woman, where lawless thugs have trespassed and murdered her dog.
-The intercutting goes from abstract to specific & sets up the idea that the old world is gone and a new one has dawned. The Nazi thugs are now the norm & go without punishment.


MONTAGE

A motage is usually created by assembling quick cuts, disconnected in time or place, that combine to form a larger idea. It usually conveys passage of time, coming of age or emotional transition. It is usually a series of shots without dialogue.

Example: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

There are several montages used in Citizen Kane, two of which represent Kane's disintegrating relationship with his first and second wife. The montage that features Kane & his second wife, Susan, is set in a large room and starts with both of them arguing while Susan puts together a jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle is used to represent time passing as the sequence moves through several, until we are back to the couple arguing, but noticeably older.
The fact that the same construction of montage is used with Kane's first and second wife allows the viewer to make a comparison.


SPLIT SCREEN

A split screen runs two shots side by side simultaneously within a single frame. It's effect is similar to intercutting.

Example: Kill Bill Volume 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)

Having survived a brutal attack, Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) lies in a coma in a hospital bed. An assassin (Darryl Hannah) is sent to finish off the job on Kiddo. The assassin is dressed as a nurse, and as she walks towards the bed, the shot switches to a split screen so that both are seen at the same time.
This heightens the suspense as the split suggests the imminent physical proximity of the victim to the assassin; they appear to be almost touching each other.


DISSOLVE

Dissolves blend one shot into another. This is achieved by fading the first shot out as the second one fades up. They soften a cut, and are often used to show the passage of time.