Rhythm in editing is not about pace. Pace is the speed of the cuts. Rhythm is whether the next shot belongs to the previous one. A slow film can have rhythm. A fast film often doesn’t.
The one-frame test
Take a cut you’re not sure about. Trim one frame from the outgoing shot. Watch it. Trim another. Watch it. The cut you choose isn’t the one your head agrees with — it’s the one your stomach stops flinching at.
When the cut belongs
A cut belongs when:
- The energy at the end of shot A matches the energy at the start of shot B
- Or the energy deliberately doesn’t, and the contrast does something
- Or the audience needs new information, and shot B gives it
If none of these — you’re cutting because the script says you should. That’s not editing. That’s transcription.
Why one frame
One frame is one twenty-fourth of a second. Your eye doesn’t see it. Your gut does. Trust it.