{{Short description|Cinematic editing technique}} In filmmaking, an '''axial cut''' is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera and the subject.<ref>{{cite web|title=Common editing terms explained|publisher=inspiredfilmandvideo.co.uk|url=http://www.inspiredfilmandvideo.co.uk/index.php?page_id=4|accessdate=7 April 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421001705/http://www.inspiredfilmandvideo.co.uk/index.php?page_id=4|archivedate=21 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> While a plain jump cut typically involves a temporal discontinuity (an apparent jump in time), an axial cut is a way of maintaining the illusion of continuity.<ref name="hitchcock">{{cite web|title=Continuity Editing in Hitchcock's Rear Window |publisher=slideshare.net |url=http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/continuity-editing-101-hitchcocks-rear-window |accessdate=7 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611171741/http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/continuity-editing-101-hitchcocks-rear-window |archivedate=11 June 2010 }}</ref> Axial cuts are used rarely in contemporary cinema, but were fairly common in the cinema of the 1910s and 1920s.<ref name=bordwell>{{cite web|title=Observations on cinema |publisher=David Bordwell |url=http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=6136 |accessdate=7 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618080806/http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=6136 |archivedate=18 June 2010 }}</ref>
An axial cut can be made with the use of a zoom lens, or physically moving the camera with a crane or camera dolly. The intervening footage (as the camera moves or zooms) is then removed while editing the film. Since footage is discarded, this technique works better for static shots. If action is involved, several takes will be required to get the necessary footage.
Alternatively, a multiple-camera setup can be used, with the cameras showing the subject at different sizes. The footage from both cameras is then edited together to create the effect. As the cameras cannot occupy the same space, there will always be a slight deviation from the axis. Moving the cameras further away from the subject and using telephoto lenses can reduce the deviation.
== Directors who use axial cuts == *Dario Argento *Frank Capra<ref name=bordwell2>{{cite web|title=Observations on cinema |publisher=David Bordwell |url=http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=6308 |accessdate=2 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618080502/http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=6308 |archivedate=18 June 2010 }}</ref> *Sergei Eisenstein<ref name=bordwell /> *Alfred Hitchcock<ref name=hitchcock /> *Lev Kuleshov<ref name=bordwell /> *Akira Kurosawa<ref name=bordwell /> *John McTiernan<ref name=bordwell /> *Martin Scorsese *Hiroshi Shimizu<ref name=bordwell3>{{cite web|title=Observations on cinema |publisher=David Bordwell |date= |url=http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?cat=140 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221093159/http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?cat=140 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2013 |accessdate=2 January 2011 }}</ref> *Steven Spielberg *Sadao Yamanaka<ref name=bordwell2 /> *James Whale *Brian De Palma *Peter Bogdanovich
==References== <references/>
{{Continuity Editing}} {{Cinematic techniques}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axial Cut}} Category:Cinematography Category:Film editing Category:Cinematic techniques
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