Terminology

Shot reverse shot is a film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen) at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character.

An eyeline match is a popular editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. The eyeline match-begins with a character looking at something off-screen, there will then be a cut to the object or person at which he is looking. For example, a man is looking off-screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a television that he is watching.

Graphic match Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape). Used in trasparent continuity styles to smooth the transition between two shots.

A Jump cut is a cut in film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed, and the beginning and end of the shot are then joined together. The technique breaks continuity in time and produces a startling effect. Any moving objects in the shot will appear to jump to a new position.

Cross-cutting is an editing technique used in films to establish continuity. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action. Because the shots occur one after another, Cross-cutting is used to suggest simultaneity of action. However, it can also be used to link significant actions that do not occur simultaneously. Suspense is built by using Cross-cutting. It is built through the expectations that it creates and in the hopes that it will be explained with time. Cross-cutting also forms parallels; it illustrates a narrative action that happens in several places at approximately the same time.

In film, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cutback to the first shot. Cutaways usually do not contribute any dramatic content of their own, but help the editor assemble a longer sequence. For this reason, editors choose cutaways related to the main action, such as another action or object in the same location.^[1] For example, if the main shot is of a man walking down an alley, possible cutaways may include a shot of a cat on a nearby dumpster or a shot of a woman watching from a window overhead.

In film, an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action due to the different framing. An insert is different from a cutaway in that the cutaway is of action not covered in the master shot.