Help me expand my film-making vocabulary, please.

April 28, 2017 1:15 PM

Sometimes in a movie, during the transition to a new scene, the visual image will remain on the end of one scene for just a moment, but they go ahead and start the audio of the new scene. This is just for a second or two, and the audio that you hear usually seems to be music or ambient sound, not dialogue. Is there a name for this effect?
posted by mccxxiii to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Best answer: A J-cut
posted by perplexion at 1:31 PM on April 28, 2017 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Here's an article about J-cuts and L-cuts.
posted by Huck500 at 1:32 PM on April 28, 2017 [7 favorites]

Best answer: In my experience, editors are more likely to say "split edit" when talking about a cut between two shots within a single scene, and editors, directors, and sound mixers are more likely to say "prelap" for the next scene's audio overlapping the end of the previous scene's picture.
posted by nobody at 2:14 PM on April 28, 2017 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I recently found this Youtube video that explains it well.
posted by wolfr at 5:59 AM on April 29, 2017