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The Art & Craft of Great Screenwriting

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Modern Screenplay

The Art & Craft of Great Screenwriting

Steve Martin Little Shop of Horrors

Q. Does every scene change need a ‘Cut To’ or ‘Dissolve’?

Charlotte, March 8, 2024April 12, 2024

No.

Whenever you write a new scene with a new slugline, it’s self-evident that a cut has been made; in most cases, “Cut To” is redundant. 

So when would a direction like that be relevant?

As per Dave Trottier’s indispensible The Screenwriter’s Bible (p. 286),

Here’s my rule of thumb: Use an editing direction when it is absolutely necessary to understand the story, or when its use helps link two scenes in a way that creates humor or drama, or improves continuity. 

Let’s Look at Little Shop of Horrors:

In this scene, the maniacal dentist Orin demands that his patient spits out water, followed by a visual of a gallon of water and pieces of gravel landing in the gutter. 

In this scene, the maniacal dentist Orin demands that his patient spits out water; the closeup of the gallon of water and pieces of gravel landing in the gutter presents a funny juxtaposition; without the “Cut To,” the reader may fail to make the clever visual connection.

Let’s Look at Saving Private Ryan:

They say filmmaking is war, but writing scene transitions doesn’t have to be.

Here, the “Dissolve To” bridges the gap between violence of the guns firing to the mundanity of the typewriters clattering.

In sum, a “Cut To,” “Dissolve To,” “Match Cut” are not crucial for screenwriters to integrate into their scripts.

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About Me

Charlotte Winters

Hi, I’m Charlotte Winters. As an award-winning screenwriter with an MFA from UCLA who associate produced a show on behalf of The History Channel, lectured at UCLA, and freelanced at WB and FX, I am a lifelong student of the screenplay. I founded this blog because I love reading and analyzing great movies.

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