Film Editing Tips: Using Insert or Cutaway Shots to Maintain Film Continuity

The film editor's job includes maintaining the basic continuity of the shots used in the movie. There are times that such continuity issues get overlooked during the shoot. As a result the editor may find it challenging to edit from one shot to the next as the script or storyboard requires. In such cases, the editor must find ways to help make everything come out as needed. Two of the tools often used are insert and cutaway shots.

Using Insert or Cutaway Shots

The scene shows a half-body shot of a woman in a restaurant. This was shot on another day compared to the close-up shot of the same woman in the restaurant, which logically should follow the half-body shot, once the movie gets edited. However, the entire shoot is already finished and it's not possible (or practical) to call back the cast and crew and spend thousands of dollars to correct the mistake of the woman's bangs being a little different in the two supposedly continuous shots. To remedy this, the editor can use an insert or cutaway shot.

As inserts and cutaways are typically shot during the production, in the case of the woman in the restaurant problem, the editor can look for insert or cutaway shots from the film's raw footage. Once the found, the shot is placed between the two discontinuous shots. This allows the viewer to see a transition of the woman's bangs from the half-body shot to the close-up.

In film language, this can also logically suggest the passage of time so that there is an acceptable and realistic possibility that she arranged her bangs in between the two main actions. This is acceptable because film doesn't really require everything to be shown on screen. It just needs the applicable shots and skillful editing so the viewer can accept the passage of time.

Difference Between Insert and Cutaway Shots

An insert or cutaway from the main scene or action has two major uses in a film: to add related material, establishing the story more clearly or creatively; or to remove discontinuity issues in the edit.

An insert shot shows a specific element present in the scene, usually through a close-up shot. In the case of the woman in the restaurant, any element involved within the main scene that gets a close-up is called an insert. This can be the close-up of her hand tapping the table, her earrings, or the waiter taking a nearby guest's order.

A cutaway may be directly or indirectly involved in the main scene. For instance, a shot of a mysterious man inside a taxi from outside the restaurant is shown in between the shots involving the main scene of the woman inside the restaurant. There can also be a cutaway of a man running as fast as he can, which may suggest that he is late for his appointment or date with the woman in the restaurant.