Smash Cuts

Smash Cuts 

The smash cut is an abrupt transition, there is no little to no correlation in the composition of the shots that are being cut together and therefore the cut is jarring to audiences. This idea of shocking the audience can be taken even further so that the smash cut accompanies a jump scare in the film. The smash cut is so effective for this as it often cuts between a shot that is calm and still to something intense. Cutting from quiet to intense allows the audience to gain a false sense of security in a scene before shattering this with a loud jarring cut. It is for this reason that smash cuts are usually found in horror films, as a seemingly extreme but simple and effective form of editing when trying to surprise and scare. 

Alongside this, various examples can show smash cuts waking up from an intense dream or nightmare as the shock factor of going from the dream world to the real world can be a shock to the system as there is such a great contrast between the two. This technique shows the smash cut being used in an alternative way as instead of going from calm to intense, this smash cut. These shots often show a character snapping awake and sitting up as they breathe heavily, representing a sort of catharsis. It is not a mistake that this sense of catharsis is also felt by the audience. This shows the versatility of the smash cut as it can be utilised to either take the character out of an intense scene or throw them into one as the same thing happens to