Editing Basics in 60 seconds - The J Cut

There are several video editing techniques that every professional should know to level-up their video content. One of the most common techniques you will see once you start looking (or listening) for is the J cut. The J Cut refers to the effect of hearing the audio before you see the interview associated with that audio. It ends up looking like a J, because the audio precedes the video and it is used in almost every video you will ever see. Instead of jump cuts from one interview to another, J cut acts as a glue, connecting your different shots, broll, and title cards to build one cohesive story.

Pro Tip: J and L cuts don’t need to be long.  Oftentimes making a J cut from just 4 frames is enough to create a subtle but very powerful effect of tying your story together.  You can also try just cutting in the room tone from the interview clip to help smooth out the transitions.

The L cut is another version of this editing technique but backwards. An L cut is when the audio from the preceding clip contimes to play over the B-Roll or other video clips.