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:
“My grief lies all within,
And these external manners of laments
Are merely shadows to the unseen grief
That swells with silence in the tortured soul.
There lies the substance.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)