3 Cinematic Match Cut Transitions

Learn 3 cinematic match cut transitions in adobe premiere pro. Match cuts are a great way to transition from scene to scene. It’s not merely a fancy transition; it’s a deep storytelling tool. you will understand how match cuts completely transform your projects, and how much critics and fans alike love this cinematic technique. And in this tutorial, I’ll show you 3 different match cuts transitions.

Types of graphic match cuts

Graphic match cuts can be used as visual metaphors. They imply that the objects are one-and-the-same, and they do this through a visible transformation. You can also use graphic match cuts for a seamless passage of time. It can be with a dissolve or a straight cut.

How much time has actually passed will help you decide how you go about one of these cuts, but it’s all about the feeling you want to create. You can graphic match cut across multiple transitions, allowing a single physical object to act as a visual throughline for your scene.

Transition with match on movement cuts

When you use a match on action cut, it draws a direct connection between the actions within both scenes. Functionally, movement is action, and it’s easier to connect two shots or scenes that are strung together by a quick transition.

It should be noted here that match-on-action cuts are also used, and more frequently, between shots in the same scene. Shooting dynamic fight scenes, for example, often employ match on action cuts when a punch lands or when a gun is fired to intensify the action itself.

Transitions using a sound bridge

Any time audio is used in a scene transition, it falls under the umbrella term called a “sound bridge.” Audio is perhaps the most natural way to smoothly transition from one scene to the next. And there a few ways this is done. 

Voice-over is a great example of a sound bridge, guiding us from scene to scene. Music, especially in a montage, is also another effective way to use audio to connect scenes.

There are also two very common sound transitions: the J-cut and the L-cut. In those techniques, the sound of one scene is used to “overlap” the two scenes. With a J-cut, the sound of Scene 1 is continued into the Scene 2. With an L-cut, Scene 2 is heard before we see the images.

For our purposes, we’ll focus on a true audio match cut, where the scene transition is guided with the use of similar sound design. This means that a single sound is “shared” between the two shots. For an insanely clever example, we need to turn to our main man, Edgar Wright.

At the beginning of one of the best horror movies, Shaun of the Dead, our title character is completely oblivious to the zombie apocalypse brewing around him. To hammer this joke home, Wright uses this scene of Shaun flipping through channels to tell him exactly what’s happening.