{"id":6681,"date":"2022-05-01T07:53:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T07:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/?p=6681"},"modified":"2024-08-19T11:11:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T11:11:33","slug":"j-cut-vs-l-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/j-cut-vs-l-cut\/","title":{"rendered":"J Cut vs. L Cut: Why and How to Use Them in Your Videos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filmmaking works best when the audience is made to feel a part of the story – to become immersed in the world of the characters. There is arguably no role more necessary to achieving this than the editor’s. Beautiful cinematography, masterful performances and thoughtful direction amount to nearly nothing until each shot is cut together in just the right way. Going a step further, I would even claim that there is a single type of editing technique that will make or break an editor in their pursuit of this goal of immersion. That technique is the split edit, and in this article, I want to demonstrate its power and show you how to master it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a split edit?<\/span><\/h2>\n

I’ve built up this technique to sound pretty important, haven’t I? Thankfully, it’s as simple as it is impactful. A split edit is the umbrella term given to 2 similar types of cut – the J cut and the L cut. These cuts are defined by allowing the audio and video of a clip to transition at different times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When a clip’s audio enters before the video, it forms a “J” shape on the editor’s timeline and therefore earns the name\u00a0<\/span>J cut<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe example above in action goes like this:<\/span><\/p>\n