What's the best way to edit over jump cutting in interview footage?

J

JimS2

Member
I have a documentary style project that I would like to edit, but it's news clips of interviews.

I am guessing it's best to avoid jump cutting if I want to skip ahead in the interview. I watched how the news does it for research and I noticed how some news shows will do a 'flash to white' over the cut, or they will do a keyframe to overexpose the footage to white, then expose the footage back down to normal, and we see that they have cut ahead.

There is also one that goes out of focus during the cut I saw, then goes back into focus, to avoid jump cutting. Or I could just do a simple dissolve, and that's it. These are all from different news shots to avoid jump cutting, but does one way look better than the others, out of curiosity, of other people's opinions?
 
Jump cuts are fine and sometimes even more desired in the current age.

There are literally hundreds of transitions out there; choose one that works best for you and your content. Modern NLEs have over 50 built-in.

Some sort of 'flash' as you mentioned above is usually most universal.
 
Oh okay. Well my personal taste is either just a straight dissolve or a flash to white. I could actually show the jump cut but I never see this done on the news with news footage.

For example, in this news clip here, at 0:49 into the clip, their is a jump cut, which they do the flash to white. There is also another flash to white they do to hide a jump cut at 1:33:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJYAwGqGKTs&t=50s

But if jump cuts are acceptable, then why didn't they just jump cut it?
 
Because major TV news has a stable style of presenting its information which hasn't really changed in 50+ years.

You probably don't watch too much YouTube or Instagram (or maybe you do, IDK), but I would say over 90% of the presentation style these days includes a variety of jump cuts.

In the example above, they also used the flash transition to serve as an easy edit (since the dialogue was probably cut up), and/or a time sponge to indicate to viewers what was said next was later in the speech.

In that kind of content in which it's not really meant to be creative or it's more serious, it's better to use a transition because the jump cut will most likely look like an error to people. When the presentation style is more rapid and more jump cuts occur, the brain adjusts.
 
Oh okay but since I am editing news type interviews, if it would come across as an error if you jump cut on the news, then wouldn't it come across as an error if I do it therefore?

Yes I've seen youtube where people do it, but is it more acceptable in people's videos on youtube compared to news footage therefore?
 
If the news footage is somber, I'd avoid jump cuts...if it's fun and more like a "Daily Show" vibe, it definitely can work for TV or YouTube.

Talent matters too.

I would need to see the edit to provide any more meaningful feedback (or anyone else).
 
A cutaway is the most natural-looking way to hide a cut.

When an interview cuts to a photograph, B-roll, the interviewer, or some other thing that doesn't show the interviewee's mouth, there's a good chance that it's for more than just illustration or dramatic effect. Often there is a jump cut hiding underneath.

Of course, having something to cut to is a whole other subject, and much more work than just flashing to white or something :)
 
Oh okay, yes I can use cutaways in some parts. But if it's like those examples, where I don't want to use a cutaway all the time, which type of transition looks the best if it's cutting ahead in news interviews? In know it's personal taste, but in your opinion also, does one look the best over the others?
 
You could try a smooth-cut transition or you could zoom into the clip following the cut, so that it looks like you cut to a telephoto camera angle; this method works best when your acquisition format is higher resolution than your delivery format.
 
Oh okay thanks. I use Premiere Pro for editing so far, but could try Da Vinci Resolve. So a smooth cut transition works the same way frame interpolation works then?
 
Oh okay. Yeah jump cuts work in some things for sure, it's just I am trying to emulate a news look and feel intentionally, so if I want that type of feel intentionally, I wonder if jump cuts are right for it, since I never see them on the news, so not sure?
 
I wouldn't overcomplicate it. Start with the flash; it's simple, effective, and universally recognized.
 
What if I did a quick dissolve instead of a flash? Would that not look news-ish, bacause the news uses flashes, and overexposure type transitions, or would just a straight dissolve still look like the news?

Or what if instead of a flash to white, I just did a dip to black instead? I just don't like the white as much, so would a straight dissolve or a dip to black work too, or not as well?
 
It can work if it's very fast, 4 frames or less.

Because nothing screams amateur and Windows Movie Maker more than a default 1-2 second dissolve in which you see the content cross and move on each end of the transition. This would be less of a problem with a static talking head but still something to consider.

I like the flash because the blown out frame hides the transition.

I'm not crazy about any fading to black (for this) because it's strongly associated with an ending of something. Or creatively like someone losing consciousness (used along with blur), or in any other creative edit - so you have to use it really well when you do.

___

Also wanted to add...I think a flash keeps an edit going, which I am assuming you'd like to do...show a bunch of interviews clips one after another, tell a story with them and keep the viewer engaged.
 
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Oh okay, so you are saying that a straight dissolve would be too fast? I haven't tried one that fast over the same type of shot, so not sure...
 
You can adjust the duration of any transition. A dissolve can be a minute long if you have the time on each end.

Or 2 frames.
 
I'm saying I think a dissolve has to be fast to work best for this!

And the push slide you linked to (which is now below this post) works best with stills. Used a lot.

Stills, in general, allow for way more creative options than video, IMO.
 
Oh okay thanks. I see what you mean about that dissolve now. Another type of transition I noticed is this one at 1:49 into the same news clip I posted before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJYAwGqGKTs&t=50s

In that one, they push the next shot of video into the frame. Would that be an effective transition as well, or would that not work as well for trying to cover up jump cuts, while trying to look like the news?
 
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