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Although I don't have a clear example, I'm looking for a transition which is somehow a mix of:

  • Cross-cutting: where two scenes in different locations happen at the same time
  • Graphic match : where "two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape)"

Basically, we have two scenes which happen at the same time and the transitions back and forth between the two scenes are done through similar looking elements of each scene (for example, between a barrel rolling and a vehicle wheel). I can't manage to find the actual name of such transitions.

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    While I might not have understood the question completely it sounds like it would be better fit on Video Production, given that you seem to want to produce such a transition yourself.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Jan 5, 2014 at 18:03
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    Not entirely sure what you're after either, but the "Graphic Match"-cut is a type of "Match Cut" (yes, that's what you actually call it). And, if I do actually get what you're after, then it's just a series of match cuts back and forth between the two scenes. I don't believe there's an actual name for that kind of mix.
    – Tom
    Jan 5, 2014 at 18:13
  • This is actually not for production, just out of curiosity (since there was a film-techniques tag I figures out it fit well). Thank you though I will try the other board as well!
    – wrousseau
    Jan 5, 2014 at 20:07

2 Answers 2

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Rather than being a match cut, I have always known this type of edit as a FORM CUT.

From the wiki entry for Form Cut:

The cut joins together two pieces of film that contain two similarly shaped objects in similar positions in the frame.

However - I would not refer to this as 'seamless', as the viewer is often acutely aware that the cut has taken place - rather it is used as an artistic way to transition between subjects.

Take a look at one of the more famous examples, from Eisenstien's Battleship Potemkin. There are many form cuts (Eisenstien pioneered this technique) in the Odessa Steps sequence, but none so striking as the shot of the gun barrel that is cut next to the open mouth and wounded eye of the old woman. Circles played a huge part in this sequence (pram wheels, screaming people) and are used to hold the entire scene together while dramatically demonstrating cause and effect.

enter image description hereenter image description here

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  • Thanks ! This is the closest to what I was looking for !
    – wrousseau
    Feb 23, 2014 at 17:16
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I think you are talking about repeated graphic match cut.

From Wikipedia-

A match cut, also called a graphic match (or, in the French term, raccord), is a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which an object in the two shots graphically match, often helping to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots metaphorically.

Example shot from 2001: A Space Odyssey -

enter image description here

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  • I think this wiki entry is wrong. I was always taught that a match cut is an edit where an action continues seamlessly through an edit - for example, a person goes to pick up a bottle in a medium shot, cut to a close-up of the person's hand grabbing the bottle. The action is seamless, and referred to a match cut. It's the same for a character walking into camera and then away in two shots, with the rhythm and pacing unaffected by the cut.
    – Nobby
    Jan 9, 2014 at 12:48
  • And yes - I just challenged the mighty wikipedia - LOL.
    – Nobby
    Jan 9, 2014 at 12:49
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    @Nobby My film production knowledge is pretty much limited to the screenwriting and story development bit, so I'm quite far from being even an editing novice. However, I think I've spotted a slight difference between the "form cut" and the supposed "graphic match cut". I believe the graphic match cut is more of an obvious transition where the object more or less seems to be transformed into this new object, while the form cut is more of a subconcious thing where the objects doesn't necessarily match in size and position.
    – Tom
    Jan 9, 2014 at 13:23
  • @Nobby I might be completely wrong, though. But, going through the similar transitions I could remember just off the top of my head, that's something I noticed. It doesn't mean it has to be two different types of cuts, of course.
    – Tom
    Jan 9, 2014 at 13:35

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