Filmmakers use crosscutting to present a montage of different scenes, build suspense, add narrative contrast, and more. What Is Crosscutting?
Crosscutting is a film editing technique in which a sequence is edited in post-production to combine two or more separate scenes. A scene that has been crosscut will cut away from one scene to another, implying a relationship between the scenes. The different scenes may be taking place in the same location and time or in different locations at different times.
What Does Crosscutting Convey?
Suspense: Cutting in and out of scenes builds suspense by momentarily leaving questions unanswered. Crosscutting can leave audiences wondering how the scenes are connected and how they will intersect. Crosscutting can also misdirect audiences to build suspense.
Speed: Crosscutting can help determine the rhythm of a scene. In the same way that a long take slows down a scene, crosscutting speeds it up. A crosscut that involves a split-screen can also literally speed up the action by showing twice as much information in half the time it would’ve taken to show each scene separately.
Juxtaposition: Crosscutting can show two competing or contrasting points of view. It can also convey juxtaposition through cinematography—such as close-ups intercut by long shots, for example. Crosscutting vs. Parallel Editing: What’s the Difference?
Crosscutting and parallel editing may be similar, but they are not synonyms. Crosscutting is a general term for any time a scene is intercut with another, while parallel editing refers to instances where two or more shots are depicting parallel actions happening simultaneously. A film editor using crosscutting may intercut multiple scenes happening at different times, whereas parallel editing typically intercuts two different scenes from two separate locations that are happening at the same time. An example of parallel editing comes from Christopher Nolan's 2010 film Inception. Nolan uses parallel editing to show four separate scenes that are taking place in four different locations all at the same time. Parallel editing allows the four scenes to appear as parallel actions rather than completely separate scenes.
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