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:
“Truth in philosophy means that concept and external reality correspond.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“I remember the stink of the liverwurst.
How I was put on a platter and laid
between the mayonnaise and the bacon.
The rhythm of the refrigerator
had been disturbed.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)