Camera stops mid-take, setup changes, then rolls again — material arrives to editor as separate clips. Saves post-production time but risks continuity breaks.
In-Camera Cut
You stop the camera, change position, adjust focus and lighting – then it starts again. This is the in-camera cut, and it saves you hours in the editing suite, but costs you nerves on set. The logic is compelling: why painstakingly edit two takes when you can cut the shot together on location?
In practice, it works like this: You hold the scene, the camera is running, and at a clean cut point – for example, at the end of a line of dialogue or a movement – the director gives the signal to stop. Camera off. Now you have time to change the camera angle, move closer, change the axis. The actors hold their positions or move to an intermediate position. As soon as everything is readjusted, the actors repeat their final line from the previous shot – as a connecting cue – then the camera starts again, and you shoot the next shot directly in the same take. In the edit, you simply cut out the moment the camera was stopped, and you already have your cut point in the raw material.
The advantage is obvious: you save a complete additional take, less material to manage, faster progress on set. This is often done, especially on commercial shoots or with tight production schedules. The problem: continuity becomes a minefield. Actors must find exactly the same body posture and facial expression again. Light shifts imperceptibly if reflectors or the sun move. The focus transition must be absolutely clean – if your focus puller drifts for even half a second, you have a jump cut that you can no longer correct. A water bottle on the table, a glass in hand – everything must be back in the exact same place, down to the millimeter.
Modern editing protocols require you to mark these in-camera cuts in the script or continuity list. The editor needs to know where the artificial cut point is. A messy in-camera cut is as noticeable in the finished film as a bad match cut – and then you can no longer correct it because you lack the alternative take. Therefore: only do it when time is truly precious and your team works reliably.