The 30-degree rule is a basic

film editing Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees relative to the subject between successive shots of the same subject. If the camera moves less than 30 degrees, the transition between shots can look like a

jump cut A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which a single continuous sequential shot of a subject is broken into two parts, with a piece of footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positions of the subj ...

—which could jar the audience and take them out of the story. The audience might focus on the film technique rather than the narrative itself. The 30 degree change of angle makes two successive shots different enough to not look like a jump cut. However, camera movement should stay on one side of the subject to follow the

180-degree rule Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

. Also, when thinking about the 30 degree rule, it is important to change the focal length of the lens at least 20 mm with each move one makes on the axis. The 30 degree rule is often called the "20 mm/30 degree rule" for this reason. Although the

axial cut An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera and the subject. While a plain jump cut typically involves a temporal discontin ...

does not follow the 30-degree guideline, effectively making it a specialized type of jump cut, its adherence to the 20mm rule has allowed it to gain an important place within

classical continuity Continuity editing is the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence to direct the viewer's attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across b ...

. French filmmaker

George Méliès George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, producer of silent black-and-white film, made films before the 30 degree rule existed. Méliès inspired succeeding filmmakers to heed this rule of angle when cutting between similar or nearly identical clips. When Mèliés himself made his famous ''

A Trip to the Moon ''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel '' From the Earth to the Moon'' and its 187 ...

'' (1902), he edited together film clips of the same framing and with the same angle, after changing the scene between the shots, to make it look like there was no cut at all. It was the world's first attempt to make special effects, made up of jump cuts. As Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White suggest in ''The Film Experience'', "The rule aims to emphasize the motivation for the cut by giving a substantially different view of the action. The transition between two shots less than 30 degrees apart might be perceived as unnecessary or discontinuous--in short, visible." Especially in post-continuity editing, there are some cases where jump cuts are used in

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

or for aesthetic effect, but generally filmmakers try to avoid them otherwise. The 30 degree rule is a special case of a more general dictum that states that the cut is jarring if two shots are so similar in angle and distance that it appears there is no reason for the cut. In his book'' In The Blink of an Eye'', editor Walter Murch states:

References

External links

"The 30-degree rule"
an article explaining the 30-degree rule in depth (showcasing examples and counterexamples from various films). Cinematic techniques Film editing {{film-term-stub

See also

References

External links