In order to compress time or provide a visual break for the audience, filmmakers employ a variety of editing techniques. A cutaway is a popular editing technique that takes the viewer away from the main action for a short period of time. A cutaway shot is not the same as a flashback or flash forward, in which the film’s timeline is shifted backward or forward in time. A typical cutaway shot occurs at the same time as the main action sequence, allowing the audience to see other plot points at the same time.
For example, during a chase scene in an action/adventure film, the director may set the scene showing two cars chasing each other. After a few minutes, the scene may abruptly change to a shot of children about to cross a busy street. The scene then returns to the car chase, but the audience is now aware that there is a potential disaster. The brief cutaway shot’s purpose was to create a sense of suspense as the two cars race towards the same busy intersection. The audience is heightened in anticipation as a result of the director’s decision to cut away from the main action.
The cutaway shot can also be used to connect two separate plot lines without diverting attention away from the main scene. Several brief cutaways to a clock moving forward several hours could be used to create a sense of tedium during a classroom lecture scene. A brief cutaway shot could show the caller listening to his cell phone and hanging up if a phone goes unanswered during a hostage situation. Cutaways in many action movies show law enforcement officers surrounding a building or a sniper taking up his position. Although the characters in the main plot may be unaware of these developments, the audience is.
Cutaway shots are almost always brief because they are only intended to give the audience a snippet or two of additional information. For the average film or television viewer, watching a long chase sequence or monologue without a visual break can quickly become tedious. The director can continue to present the main storyline while also controlling what additional information the audience receives judicious use of cutaways.
Alfred Hitchcock, the famous suspense director, once described the power of a cutaway shot describing a scene between two actors. The audience will be shocked for ten seconds if the two actors are shown having a normal conversation at a table and then a bomb explodes. The entire scene becomes much more suspenseful if the camera cuts away to the bomb beneath the table first, because the audience is now aware of the impending explosion. Many film and television directors use cutaway shots to aid the storytelling process for this reason.