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Hard Cut - TV Tropes

  • ️Thu Jun 14 2007

The most basic form of editing transition; the last frame of scene one is right before the first frame of scene two. Almost invisible to the viewer, it carries the least meaning in the symbolic language of editing. It's so basic, it's almost never spelled out in a script unless the writer wishes to ensure a director doesn't get fancy and ruin a scene's abrupt nature with a dissolve or wipe. The Hard Cut reflects the human eye's own scene-change mechanism; quick eye movements (saccades) are actually edited out by our brain, leaving the effect of a cut.

As with other types of video editing, timing is absolutely critical.

Super-Trope of:

  • Jump Cut: Abrupt edits where one scene cuts to another just like it, but using a different position or area of sorts.
  • Multi-Take Cut: An action is filmed from various angles as it progresses for awesomeness effect
  • Repeat Cut: Different shots of the same action being repeated.
  • Smash Cut: A cut occurs in the middle of an action and is meant to be jarring.
  • Staggered Zoom: Zooms accomplished by jump-cuts.

Contrast Fade In and Fade Out. A Pre-lap might visually hard cut to the next scene but have the audio linger. Might overlap with Curse Cut Short (character is interrupted/truncated mid-swear).

Examples:

Films — Live-Action

  • Bimmer: When checking finances, Rama mocks Killa that they will likely only be able to afford milk with this. Killa has a large milk bottle in the very next scene.
  • A Christmas Story: Ralphie accidentally swears in front of his father, who, known for being harsh, gives him a Soap Punishment. Ralphie is wondering what kind of terrible fate awaits him, only for the scene to cut to a shot of him holding a red soap bar in his mouth and pondering about the taste of soaps.
  • Time Changer: A church group enters the theater; the scene suddenly cuts to the protagonist running out shouting about someone blaspheming the Christian god's name.

Live-Action TV

Web Video

  • HowToBasic: Happens several times, notably in "How to Crack Open a Coconut" when Mr. Basic slamming the side of his palm into the coconut instantly cuts to his hand smashing into an exposed watermelon.
  • Hug the Sun: Linda's Suspiciously Specific Denial about not burying someone's corpse is abruptly cut off by the show's intro.

Western Animation

  • Dragon Hunters: Several examples, but the most obvious is Zoe's Curse Cut Short (at least in original French) at the end of the film. Gwizdo, Lian-Chu, and Zoe are singing, and the camera pans toward Zoe. When Zoe's face almost fills the screen, the film immediately cuts to the end credits before she can finish the verse on what is presumably a very rude word.
  • Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Played with in-story in a very Inception-esque way during "Control-Alt-Delete." While stuck in The Controller's Lotus-Eater Machine, Tony sits on a rooftop and decides to question Hammer about what is going on. The scene naturally cuts across town directly to Hammer International, where Tony is walking into Hammer's office and meets The Controller, who gives a clue that the world Tony's in isn't real by pointing out that, as per the Hard Cut, Tony never actually travelled to or entered the building, but merely snapped to the outside of Hammer's office from the rooftop. Tony refuses to believe it, even though he doesn't actually remembers traveling across town.
  • The Magic School Bus: While the rest of the class goes to try to work out a way to power their Ferris wheel, Carlos stays behind with Liz to deal with the impatient crowd of carnival-goers. As the kids work on their solution, Keesha remarks that they had better hurry—not because they might not raise any money for their charity, but because "Carlos is probably doing his impressions by now!" Cut immediately to Carlos wearing a muscle suit and addressing the crowd in a Schwarzenegger accent.