In filmmaking, external rhythm (also referred to as cutting rhythm) is established by the duration of the shots that make up a scene. Lengthening or shortening the duration of the shots establishes a rhythmic pattern that can complement or contrast with the internal rhythm and content of a scene or sequence.
The kinds of transitions (e.g., cut, fade, dissolve, wipe) used from shot to shot or from scene to scene also affect the nature of the cutting rhythm.
Famous quotes containing the words external and/or rhythm:
“It is not a certain conformity of manners that the painting of Van Gogh attacks, but rather the conformity of institutions themselves. And even external nature, with her climates, her tides, and her equinoctial storms, cannot, after van Gogh’s stay upon earth, maintain the same gravitation.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)
“My brain sang
a rhythm I never dreamt to sing,
“I will be gay and laugh and sing,
he is going away.””
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)