Invisible Cuts: The Secret to Fluid Editing

One of the biggest challenges in video production is not just the content, but the pacing. Frequently, we see videos that look like a succession of "slides": the teacher speaks, hard cut; an image enters, hard cut; back to the teacher. The result is a "stilted" video, where every cut reminds the viewer that they are watching a recording and fails to take advantage of different dynamics made possible by digital videos.

But how do you create that sense of continuity, where one scene flows naturally into the other? The answer lies in two cinema techniques that we cover in our new tutorial: the J-Cut and the Match Cut.

The Logic of Continuity

In this new video added to our Tips for your Video section, we focus on the strategy behind professional editing. We show in different ways how you can manipulate cuts and transitions to create smooth connections:

• J-Cut (The Audio Cut): Based on real life, where we often hear something before turning our face to look. It is the technique of making the sound of the next scene start before the image appears.

• Match Cut (The Visual Rhyme): Great for mathematics. It involves connecting two different scenes through their geometry. Cutting from a round pizza straight to a pie chart creates a visual "rhyme" that makes the cut imperceptible.

Watch the conceptual tutorial:

Quick Tip: How to apply in CapCut?

Although the video addresses the technique universally, so everyone understands it in any editor, if you edit on mobile (CapCut), applying these concepts is very simple:

• To do the J-Cut: Tap on your video and select "Extract Audio". Now that the sound is separated from the image, just drag the audio track of the second scene a little to the left, so it starts while the previous image is still on the screen.

• To do the Match Cut: Use the "Overlay" tool. Place the second scene temporarily over the first one, lower the opacity to make it transparent, and align the objects (e.g., align the drawing of the triangle with the pyramid). Once aligned, make the exact cut at that point.

Technique in the Service of Didactics

Mastering these transitions is not just an aesthetic matter. A fluid video tires the brain less and keeps the student immersed in logical reasoning, without the abrupt interruptions of poorly planned editing.

If you want to learn more about how to professionalize your productions — from choosing music to using keyframes — be sure to visit the "Tips for your video" tab here on the FVDEM website.