Comments on: How “cuts” in movies impact our minds

By: Cam

Cam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:33:08 +0000

“Professional” wrestling such as WWE makes use of rapid camera angle changes to distract from/obscure what is really happening.

You will very often have a camera angle change before an impact takes place.

By: Interesting Finds – July 24, 2009 | Adventures With Words

Interesting Finds – July 24, 2009 | Adventures With Words — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:31:44 +0000

[...] How “cuts” in movies impact our minds [...]

By: ReligiousMarie

ReligiousMarie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:01:31 +0000

Nice reference @flap…tata

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:28:47 +0000

“When we watch a movie, we’re usually not conscious of the cuts made by the editor.”

Unless it’s directed by Michael Bay that is.
I find all of this stuff fascinating. Does anyone know of a good video, e.g. on YouTube, which illustrates the 180 degree rule?

Should also add, really interesting comment from LaFayette. I’m a film nerd and can talk about this kind of thing for hours while other people sit there with blank looks on their faces.

By: Lux

Lux — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:43:22 +0000

Crossing the line? This was day one of film school. Not really a new concept, still it’s quite interesting.

Psycho’s most famous scene was of course (and always is) the main case study for crossing the line, the disorientation that results and the effectiveness of this result when it came to scaring people into feeling they were being kniffed.

It also occasionally comes in handy for deconstructionist comedy. Shaun Micallef is a bit of a demi-god in that world.

By: flapjack

flapjack — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:35:25 +0000

This book is generally a good primer in fim grammar… I always pull it off the shelf if I’m storyboarding something for quick and easy reference -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Setting-Up-Your-Shots-Filmmaker/dp/1932907424/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248359587&sr=8-1

By: sean

sean — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:11:13 +0000

Alongside the 180 degree rule in film making there is also a 30 degree rule. This says that separate shots of the same thing should move at least 30 degrees. If you don’t do this the cut jars and is a jump cut. The adjacent shots should be different enough as well as not too different.
If either rule is broken it can disorient the viewer but often a filmmaker might want to do this. Baz Lurhman seems to have thrown these rules out of his window and the French New Wave had fun messing about with them.
In my experience movement in a scene is not as much of a problem as the amount of characters in a scene. The 180 rule helps with continuity and when you have three or more people in a scene it can get confusing as the eye lines change and the imaginary line shifts as the eye line does. It’s a pain in the arse but if you don’t get it right it can look like Tom is talking to Harry when he’s meant to be talking to Dick.

I work with kids a lot teaching this sort of thing and it’s amazing how often they don’t understand that a scene is built up of several different shots. Most literally haven’t noticed that there are cuts when they are watching things.

By: roz

roz — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:27:29 +0000

when i learned to shoot video, the most amazing thing to me was how one could control what people see in any given scenario just by putting only what one wishes to include into the frame. for an example, attend an event personally & then check out the news coverage of it–video DOES lie!

By: Ms G

Ms G — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:23:02 +0000

Oh yes .. very disturbing if they move too fast from angle to angle .. annoys the hell out of me and can make me dizzy .. especially if I dont focus from controlled psyche but just watch it from my more emotional observing self ..
Also disturbing …. all those scenes that are way too dark .. damned you can’t see a damn thing and I dont rent/go to a movie not to see a damn thing. But that aside from the angle stuff.

I myself remember quite often situations from daily life from different angels than I really was in at. E.g. remembering a performing artist not from the front but from the back or from aside. Or height .. position of yourself in a scene … the memory of that is not always correct either in my case. On the other hand .. I do remember my lower height in childhood quite well when remembering stuff …

At times I see people in different sizes … it sort of visualizes something about the inside of people in certain situations … So two having an argument .. the yelling one is still in the same size .. but holding a bit back to keep control of herself … the yelled at one, who does not take it serious, is a very small person all of sudden .. almost half the size he normally is …
but erm .. that’s my brain at times … it seems to adapt to my psychologic nature at times in a rather extreme way .. but only when I’m not in my normal focus ..

Sloppy camera work is annoying .. too fast moving around .. not steady camera’s .. Can’t recall that many right now but I do know it is something that annoys me quite often in certain movies. Or very artistic techniques .. can be annoying too. They take away the focus from the story .. makes the technique become in front ot the story and that should normally def. not be the case .. it should carry the story .. give it the right things here and there .. make it even better.
Extreme fast stunts and such .. annoys the hell out of me .. I don’t want to watch a movie like that .. (I myself need to adapt to something I dont feel like adapting to at all .. speedy gonzalez mode is not what I wished for when in my chair watching tv … speedy gonzalez but then in fixed mode ..)

Oh well … lots of things that annoy me in this area … but also lots of things that interest me … which at times interest me more than the story itself … (I also like to check character for their normal selves .. what they really were thinking etc etc … searching for little signs of the true self ). I once learned that they never focus on an object without reason in a movie … Now, that is not always true I discovered .. but quite often it is … all those little things.

By: RS

RS — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:14:30 +0000

As well as following eye movement, cut frequency is times to coincide with the viewer’s blinking. For instance, long shots accompany relaxed or slow scenes, and action scenes have fast cuts, as one tends to blink more often than when at rest.

I feel that editors and directors rely on this too often now, and make fast cuts where it’s not necessary (Michael Bay spring to mind), or to cover up an inadequately shot scene. They also take it to an extreme and make cuts so fast that it is hard to follow what is going on. I hear from older people that fast cuts are often too confusing, and they long for a time when an action scene was simpler, and more about observation than participation.

While I can follow fast cuts, I would like them reserved for the most intense moments, rather than the hero excitedly opening his mail or something. I long for the days of deep focus and where tension is built by the writing, rather than how often the camera changes.