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Filmmaking
6 cuts every editor should know
Great editing feels invisible. These six cuts are why, and two of them alone will make your edits feel ten times more professional.
Invisible on purpose
Nobody watches a good video and thinks "nice J-cut". They just feel like it flows. That flow comes from a handful of cuts used with intent.
The six
Jump cut: cut the dead air and keep energy up. J-cut: hear the next scene before you see it. L-cut: let the audio linger as the picture moves on. Match cut: link two shots by shape or motion. Cutaway: hide a jump by showing something relevant. Smash cut: quiet to loud, instantly, for impact or comedy.
Start with J and L
If you only learn two, learn J and L-cuts. Overlapping sound and picture is the single biggest difference between a talking-head video that feels homemade and one that feels like a documentary. Every editing app can do it, you just drag the audio past the cut.
