Jump Cut

A jump cut is an editing technique that breaks a single continuous shot into two parts with a segment of footage removed, creating the visual effect of the subject jumping forward in time while the camera's own relationship to the subject stays the same. It is considered a violation of the smooth, invisible continuity that classical continuity editing works to preserve. The technique became widely recognized through Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film Breathless, which used jump cuts extensively and popularized them for the French New Wave and the filmmakers who followed it.