In
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, an insert is a shot of part of a
scene
Scene (from Greek ') may refer to:
General
* Scene (performing arts), a part of the story held in a single location
* Scene (perception), a set of information that can flow from a physical environment into a perceptual system via sensory tran ...
as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the
master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action due to the different framing. An insert differs from a
cutaway as cutaways cover action ''not'' covered in the master shot.
There are more exact terms to use when the new, inserted shot is another view of actors:
close-up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
,
head shot
A head shot or headshot is a photographic portrait in which the focus is on the subject's face. The term is usually applied to professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, and promotional images of actors, ...
, knee shot,
two shot. So the term "insert" is often confined to views of objects—and body parts, other than the head. Often inserts of this sort are done separately from the main action, by a second-unit director using stand-ins.
Inserts and
cutaways can both be vexatious for directors, as care must be taken to preserve
continuity by keeping the objects in the same relative position as in the main take, and having the lighting be the same.
In popular culture
The 1975 movie ''
Inserts'' directed by
John Byrum about a
pornographic film
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fasci ...
production, which starred
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
and was originally released with an
X rating
An X rating is a film rating that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of graphic violence or explicit sexual acts that may be disturbing or offensive ...
, took its name from the double meaning that "insert" both refers to this film technique
(often used in pornographic filmmaking) and to sexual intercourse.
See also
*
Continuity editing
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 ...
*
Cutaway (filmmaking)
In film and video, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually followed by a cut back to the first shot. A cutaway scene is the interruption of a scene with the insertion of a ...
References
Cinematography
Cinematic techniques
Film editing
Pornography terminology
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