How to fake a LONG TAKE with hidden cuts! | 4 editing tricks

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Steve Ramsden here with DIY Moviemaking and this week I’m going to show to you four tricks to make continuous action look like one long take - by using hidden “invisible” cuts like in 1917, Birdman, Children of Men, Spectre, the Kingsman church fight and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.
I am obsessed with long takes in movies - they just immerse the viewer and can be a great way to keep your audience glued to action that’s supposedly unfolding in real time. But long takes are very difficult and expensive to get right. So it’s not surprising that many filmmakers have used various tricks to join several shorter takes together using hidden cuts, to create the illusion of seamlessness. I just find these kinds of shots fascinating and I’ve even tried several of my own fake-long-take experiments over the years. So I’ve come up with this handy list of 4 tricks you can try to invisibly join your shots together.
I’m always trying to add production value by doing a lot with a little, so if you want to see lots more fun DIY Moviemaking tips and tricks like this, then of course hit that subscribe button.
Invisible cuts, also know as ‘hidden cuts’ have been growing in popularity in recent years, in fact even some entire films like 1917 and Birdman have been based on using this as their central gimmick. And these films and others like them use the same surprisingly simple techniques I’m going to share today. These aren’t just decisions being made when editing, these are decisions you would make before and when you shoot so that you get the right shots on the day. And some of them are surprisingly cheap. So just like I teach in my course DIY Moviemaking for which the link is below, you don’t always need a lot of money to get some creative shots, you just need to spend a bit more time planning. So, here’s 4 tricks you can try for seamless cuts:
Trick number 1 is the easiest, and that is to obscure the frame with a colour match. This is a method of hiding a join by ending your first shot and starting your second shot on the same solid colour, usually black. This is the very basic method that Alfred Hitchcock used to join a lot of his shots together in his 1948 film Rope. The camera usually pushes in on a dark object, like the back of someone’s suit or a piece of furniture, until the lens is covered. Then the shot cuts, and the camera moves back out into the next take. To try this method yourself you don’t need any fancy editing at all, because the join can just be a straight cut that no-one notices. However you could put in a quick cross-fade if you wanted to.
Trick number 2 is to use what is called a whip pan. A pan just means swinging the camera to look left or right, and a whip pan just means doing this quickly, so that the image becomes blurred. This can be another great moment to hide a cut. You can see this method used a lot in Birdman, especially when characters are walking around corners or a quick pan shows us what a character is seeing. All you have to do on the day is film the end of the first shot and the start of the second shot with the same fast whip pan in a similar direction, and these should join together pretty easily.
Trick number 3 for an invisible cut is to use a foreground object to ‘wipe’ across the frame, sometimes known as a ‘frame-block transition’. This is usually an object that passes between the camera and the character and moving the join with the object. To do this, draw a simple ‘mask’ down the edge of whatever object is moving past the camera. Then you can add keyframes to move this mask in time with the object, and this will then reveal your second shot underneath.
Trick number 4 is really less of a single cut and more of a whole new ‘fake’ shot, which gets built to bridge the gap between the two real shots.This will often be used for situations where there would have just been no way to perfectly line the two shots up, or it would be an impossibly tricky shot to get. These ‘fake’ shots are often composited out of several parts from several real shots, plus sometimes more elaborate things like CGI.
So if you use any of these tricks you should end up with a fun result where you can shoot and edit using invisible cuts in your next film project!
#filmmaking #longtakes #hiddencuts
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:49 - Trick 1: Obscure Frame
03:17 - Trick 2: Whip Pan
04:48 - Trick 3: Foreground Object
06:49 - Trick 4: Build a new 'fake' shot

[@shortclawedproductions]

Amazing tutorial! thanks. I have used many of your tricks in my previous films.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Great to hear!

[@aqualithmedia]

The series, The Chosen, did a thirteen minute shot without cuts to open episode 203. It was really cool as you saw the sun going down naturally during the course of it.

[@shinde59]

Awesome video....... amazed by how simple these transitions are..... thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[@Cardboardmanart]

Would you please make video on green screen dummy to convert any creature for animal 🐾like dinosaurs films 🦖🦕

[@MichaelSavidgeStoryteller]

Great job with this tutorial! Love the examples you chose to illustrate your tips; some of them (ex: Kingsman) were ones I never would have considered. So glad to see your channel gaining a bigger following!!

[@jerusalemvice2913]

super informative! nice work

[@Grindmode3968]

Your explanation is very clean and clear Thx

[@GalaroidProductions]

I always watch your videos when I'm in need of tips, but I also just love to sit back and watch the videos considering they're also just entertaining on their own.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad you like them!

[@HavekAttacketh]

Some of these are pretty dope!

[@alaskavfxfilmer]

I love that this is basically an in camera effect

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

100%!

[@JeromeD19]

What an extraordinary tutorial! Incredible!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thank you!

[@DanDavisHistory]

This was great, thanks. Esp the jumping out of the car scene. Awesome.

[@Equilibrier]

Like always: AWESOME. Thank you for these teaching efforts ! It's one of the most inspiring and most interesting youtube content I ever watched.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Many thanks!

[@keithyork8226]

A bus driving through your shot makes a handy foreground object cut.

[@CrustyCowboy]

Great video. Sergio Leone was one of my favorite directors and, in my opinion, and I love his long takes

[@alvaromartinez9487]

This really helped thanks a lot!

[@stillkingcam]

Brotha! This was epic! Great job 🤘🏻

[@laurentb6853]

YOU ARE SO BRILLANT!!! I m very admirative of your work!! Thank you for sharing your expérience and knowledge !!!👍👍👍🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@sdrentertainment5544]

Awesome brother 💕💕💕

[@KAAN_CYX]

waow nice thanks Steve Ramsden

[@kalyuggaming2209]

Thanks for such videos that help beginner like me 🔥👍

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

No problem 👍

[@MRLOOK90]

awesome, thanks a lot!

[@alyson_Invest]

Very cool!

[@SIMPLIFIEDFILMING]

Just found your channel. Awesome work

[@brockgoldbergschrich1400]

Thanks a lot. TNice tutorials video got started.

[@maverickf1869]

Steve, I just got my first payment because of your amazing videos/tutorials that taught me A LOT (more than enough) for working on a project that paid me. I'm so thankful!!!!

[@allstargraphics1552]

Amazing as always. Really enjoyed your videos

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Many thanks, glad to hear!

[@treffensaintjohnllc2913]

I am working on a large project and your video helped me in a great way. THANK YOU!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad it helped!

[@mofenyimolobela5836]

TNice tutorials is video is amazing! thanks for posting.

[@mcnilages8023]

Thanks mate

[@steverileyretired]

Great Tips Steve, Thanks

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Many thanks!

[@chaf2]

You are a smart person. I will apply some tricks to my channel

[@DevotedSentry]

Thank you so much! I'm working on a long stopmotion right now, and I have used the whip pan effect several times but needed more ideas. This video is exactly what I need!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad I could help!

[@pablo_Mc342]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbinhow to prepere fvx shots ?

[@exotic_car_mdia]

Thank you very mutch

[@psysword]

Really cool tips

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thank you

[@urmilagp4682]

Thank you very much sir.... 😍😍😍

[@taiyoungpd]

good nice posting have good time thanks

[@TommyRosati]

Dude! This is a fantastic video! Great job!! 👍👍

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@vushper]

Great job. Great narration.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thank you kindly!

[@onlygaming8106]

Beautifully explained 😍👌

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad you liked it

[@eliansalinas5904]

Hello, I just want to tell you that your videos are amazing and I love this channel, please be more active, I enjoy when you publish, 😃

[@gilgchannel]

Hello, I subscribe immediately. I am French and thank you for all your work which gives excellent advice. it's wonderful, I make very modest videos, almost without equipment and I love to solicit the imagination. But thanks to your technique, there is a way to work well and have a lot of fun. TYOU!!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Welcome!

[@aldogomesnatal]

Nice!

[@olivernordin]

I use these in my parkour videos

[@Rdabhishek]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Thanks brother

[@sajitkarki222]

TNice tutorials was easy to follow.

[@davidconnellan6875]

Great vid, excellent tips

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thanks! 👍

[@RDs8043]

I thought maybe with you as help I can do much than what I have achieved from your tutorials

[@heritierg5908]

You are the first I love your videos

[@Cardboardmanart]

This video is awesome ❤️

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

many thanks

[@Rise_and_Shine3]

Please Steve upload videos back to back like every 2 days

[@SaharRazavi]

Really interesting, thanks for sharing 😊🌸 I was always wondering about 1917 movie scenes 🌸🌸

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Glad it was interesting!

[@SaharRazavi]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbin 😊🌸

[@ML-Mediaproduction]

Amazing :O

[@johnsonfranklin3971]

God bless you for this teachings

[@johnsonfranklin3971]

can we chat privately I sent you message on Instagram

[@fxrff4628]

انت أسطورة مبدع🥰

[@KhandanishVlogs]

Yessss another steve masterpiece, missed your content man stoked for more ( love from india )❤️

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

More to come!

[@KhandanishVlogs]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbin it's too hard to wait for your video lots of love and support ( Guruji )❤

[@tonszp0530]

thanks

[@Mix3Design]

Nice 🔥

[@sokoc.e.e.4655]

cool!

[@ritikhandsome39]

Good 👍

[@willmfrank]

"...these supposedly 'hidden' cuts in 'Rope' appear very obvious today..." Their very obviousness illustrates the technique better than the seamless ones do, because the student can see exactly how the effect is accomplished. A nicely obvious frameblock transition can be seen during Henry Hull's transformation in "Werewolf of London," as he walks behind a series of pillars, revealing a new layer of makeup each time he emerges on the other side.

[@nightmarevstplugin3944]

Nice

[@QualityVideoService]

Nice.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thank you!

[@colescanlan]

steve do you think that Adobe after effects is good for a wizard movie

[@jackjacky3289]

Are you using Producer edition?? What do y'all recomnd if I want to make s but not record my voice or tutorial?

[@kingslavd661]

Have you watched Scott Adkins' movie One Shot? The whole movie is done in one take. Most likely they've used this method but it's so impressive and probably the first action movie to do that.

[@oscarh3419]

What a genius Steve! Steve, what do you think of "DaVince Resolve 18", they are advertising that it is "After Effects and Premier" together and easier to use, is it true or just advertising?

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

I haven't yet tried it myself so can't really comment!

[@oraclemedia9266]

To me, you seem to be the next leader of VFX! Great work Bro! What part of the world are u based?

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thanks, I'm based in the UK

[@everything3098]

شكرا للترجمه

[@rudy5251]

Yes sort of but I reccond setupxx

[@Kondi_Animation]

Secret reviewed.. Thanks Steve! Also please show us how to make a lion chase on green screen for high budget..

[@vd9625]

for vfx which software are you used?

Agreed

[@aysenazgunes2225]

Hello, how can I change the dentition of a person in a video? Is it harder to change not the face but inside the mouth? If you care to help, it would be so useful. Thank you in advance.

[@rfdez2724]

Well done buddy. Remember I am still waiting for Mr. Nobody mirror scene replicate and explained. Thanks in advance.

[@sajad2122]

سید عالی هستی موفق باشی . iran

[@krystianrysak3549]

Is there any free program that can do similar things?

[@barry_wcomedy1715]

What app do i edit with pls

[@mask1616]

Hello, I like your tutorial very much. For me, it is more powerful than AK. Unfortunately, I can't afford the shooting equipment, so I hope your video tutorial can provide material practice, thank you

[@nio28]

I was surprised how understandable tNice tutorials tutorial is, thanks!

[@naeembabakheil]

nice+1

[@shortsvideo8250]

Hello sir please video editing app Tutorial

[@yousef81627]

You nice.

[@findingretreat]

liked & SUBED!!! Informative !!! osum stuff !!!#customoods #findingretreat

[@hakoutv]

0:26 what name of the movie or the serie ?? 😉

[@cem9967]

You are better than me ! Thanks...!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Practice makes perfect!

[@malmirbega395]

Where is this from 07:02 and great video btw👍🏻

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

That's from "Birdman"

[@emilianomood]

the most visible invisible transition

[@Uhfgood]

I always called a "whip-pan" a "spin-cut" because they used to spin the camera around in old 1930's American westerns, it was obvious but really meant to show a quick passage of time rather than cover anything up.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Yes I remember that too!

[@benmiller3252]

You should work at the Hollywood industry

[@NevamiZ]

You missed the open door at the jumping car clip 😶

[@OfficiallyOToole]

A really bad job of using the "wipe cut", is in this scene in A Quiet Place Part II: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYS0onSwhd1mb7c when Krasinski's character exits the truck, he's closer to the camera in the outdoor shot than he was in the truck.

[@ApaVlc]

Minute 05.06 see the bracelet and compare with shot 2. A new bracelet.

[@sodokenstudios]

Hello it’s been a while you made a video we miss you

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thanks, it's a very busy time for me currently 😅

[@sodokenstudios]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbin cool, all the best and come back soon

[@andrewharris7517]

Electric!

[@YUVPOWER]

1 & 2 is very easy, which I applied in my films and till today nobody noticed that.

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

the old tricks are the best!

[@shubh_chandrakar9334]

Hey can you please make iron suit.....effects ......👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏🎏💯💯💯💯💯💯please..💡💡💡💡

[@Hamster123_]

Can you make a tutorial of how to put cartoons in the real world please

[@betoh6931]

Hi, where is the link for the after effects course?

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

You'll find it at the bottom of this page: www.diymoviemaking.com/main-sales-page

[@betoh6931]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbin , thanks! I want to do both courses, but Im from Brazil so the prices in USD are plus 5.33 times here, so Ill save money, but Ill do. Here we can pay a lot of thing for months like 12 months in the Visa, but Ill safe. Tanks! Your work is awesome!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

@@betoh6931 no problem, look out for a Black Friday sale too :)

[@betoh6931]

@@SteveRamsdenKZbin ok! Thanks!

[@Snehulak_Leden_TV]

With wNice tutorialch app you made tNice tutorials video??