Fast Cutting

Fast cutting is a film editing technique that refers to the connection of multiple consecutive shots within a short period of time (for example, 3 seconds or less). It can be used to quickly convey a large amount of information or to suggest chaos. Fast cutting is also frequently used when shooting conversations between two or more characters, changing the viewer’s point of view to focus on another character’s reaction to the dialogue, or to draw attention to the speaking character’s non-verbal actions.

A famous example of fast cutting is the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho (1960). More recent examples include the musical numbers in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!.

The film A Beautiful Mind makes extensive use of fast cutting, conveying hundreds of brief scenes within fifteen minutes. In Run Lola Run, fast cutting is used to quickly tell the stories of minor characters, showing how the protagonist’s seemingly trivial actions have a profound impact on what happens to them. In various moments of the Saw films, trap scenes frequently use fast cuts to depict the characters’ frantic struggle to escape. Director Michael Bay uses fast cutting extensively in many of his feature films. He employs the technique most prominently in action sequences, where it is used to make the action more energetic and intense.

Fast cutting includes two stylized editing methods: fragmentary editing and hip-hop montage.

Fragmentary editing:

Fragmentary editing is a modern editing style that differs from traditional editing. It does not have to follow the conventional rules of shot-to-shot continuity in traditional editing, allowing for arbitrary cutting to create montage. The narration becomes freer and more flexible. Some uses break with convention, some are highly individualistic, and they can also make the visual style look cooler.

For more details, see: Fragmentary Editing

Hip-hop montage:

Hip-hop montage uses a series of rapid, simple actions accompanied by sound effects to depict complex actions. The technique was originally named by Darren Aronofsky, who used it in his films Pi and Requiem for a Dream to depict scenes of drug use. According to the director’s commentary on Requiem for a Dream, the hip-hop montages in the film are like the samples used in hip-hop music, repeating certain film or video snippets throughout the work to achieve an effect. The technique originated from 1990s hip-hop culture and incorporates the jump cuts first developed in the French New Wave. It was used early on in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Guy Ritchie also used this technique in Snatch. Edgar Wright’s works—most notably his collaborations with Simon Pegg (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End)—use this technique to produce comedic effect. Joseph Gordon-Levitt made extensive use of it in Don Jon (2013) to portray the protagonist’s habits.