We use CUT TO: when we want to make a point of ending the scene where we did. 'Smash cut' is a choice that a film editor might make, as a way to adjust the pace of a film. For example, if you end a scene on a character telling his wife that he’s sorry for cheating on her and it will never happen again, and the beginning of the next scene is him in bed with another woman, adding CUT TO: makes sense. Unless you’re doing a parody of the French New Wave or an MTV-style program, don’t jump. SMASH CUT TO: An especially sharp transition. As a writer, use this sparingly if at all. Many script readers find this term unprofessional. CUT TO: is much more subtle. What do people mean when they say “smash cut” or “wipe” in describing how shots are compiled? SMASH CUT: A specific kind of Transition-- an especially abrupt cut edited to deliberately jar or startle the audience, usually to make some kind of ironic point.A specific kind of Transition-- an especially abrupt cut edited to deliberately jar or startle the audience, usually to … For example, if you end a scene on a character telling his wife that he’s sorry for cheating on her and it will never happen again, and the beginning of the next scene is him in bed with another woman, adding CUT TO: makes sense. CUT TO: is much more subtle. This is the truly final draft used on set by the production people, actors, and director to make the movie from the screenplay. Denotes a new scene in the screenplay. Club, that will explain all of the differences by using examples from classic and … SMASH CUT is when you want it to be a really hard cut. Denotes a new scene in the screenplay. Now there’s a video, exclusively debuted by The A.V. You'll also find the best software for writers and more. For example: If you were writing a horror movie but wanted to lighten the gore at the beginning, you might have: EXT. Slug Line. SMASH CUT is the more appropriate thing. SMASH CUT TO does not compensate for inadequate transitions Industry veteran Barb Doyon often provides excellent examples of professional-quality transitions in her monthly Extreme Screenwriting newsletter. Some good examples would be when Lawrence blows out a match in Lawrence of Olivier and it's a SMASH CUT to a massive landscape shot. Slug Line. Spec Script/Screenplay. I would never use CUT TO because it's assumed that all transitions are cuts unless otherwise noted. This style of cut is usually used to convey destruction or quick emotional changes. Note: this transition is often a director's choice. Shooting Script. SMASH CUT TO: An especially sharp transition. But what are each of those cuts and transitions? This is the truly final draft used on set by the production people, actors, and director to make the movie from the screenplay. You won't see this term anywhere else on this site. SMASH CUT TO: An especially sharp transition. Thematic: addressing the image that is in the reader's (and viewer's) mind at the end of a scene with a meaningful image on the other side of the cut (August gives the famous example of Peter O'Toole blowing out the match just before the cut to the sunset in Lawrence of Arabia) 4. This style of cut is usually used to convey destruction or quick emotional changes.