BLOG QUESTION: THE RULE OF SIX

Summarize each of the six when to make a cut. Why do you think cutting on emotion and story is so much more important than the other four?

The first rule is Emotion (51%). How do you want to make the audience, and does the cut add or subtract to that emotion. The second rule is Story (23%). Does the edit move the story in a meaningful way? Each cut you make must move the story forward or else it'll be confusing/boring to the audience. The third rule is Rhythm. Is the cut at a place that makes rhythmic sense? A bad cut can be “jarring” to your audience. The 4th rule is Eye Trace. Always be aware of where in the frame you want your audience to look, and how the cut affects location & movement of the audience's focus? The 5th rule is 2D Plane of Screen. Make sure your cuts follow the 180 degree line and that it follows the axis. The final rule is 3D Space of Action. Consider if the cut is true to established physical and spatial relationships. Cutting on emotion and story is more important than the other four because these are the most noticeable to the audience and they also help drive the story forward. Audiences are willing to watch a badly edited program as long as it's emotionally interesting to them and the story makes sense.