The Final Rewrite

13 When “Cut to” Isn’t Enough

DOI: 10.4324/9781003161578-14

Most scripts use a simple phrase such as “cut to” or “dissolve to” to denote a transition. Transitions can be shot dependent. This chapter looks at how editors design scene-to-scene transitions and the writer’s opportunities to prefigure transitions during the script stage.

Transitions

In the past, screenwriters often ended a scene with a CUT TO or DISSOLVE TO direction. Today, the CUT TO is often assumed unless the writer feels a need to emphasize a transition in a declarative way, such as “I’m not going to sleep with you” CUT TO: They’re in bed together.

The notation DISSOLVE TO implies a more gradual and often lengthy time transition. In a dissolve, the incoming scene slowly ...