Inserts and Cutaways

What's an Insert? What's a Cutaway? Well, both are part of filmmaking.

As we've been busy editing, we have mentioned that we had to get some shots that we failed to get during principal photography last year. In fact, last month went back to shoot a bunch of inserts for the movie.

The difference between inserts and cutaways can be confusing. Some people use the word interchangeably. And in some ways, they're very much alike.

An Insert is a close-up of some detail in the scene, having the camera's full attention for a moment. For example, one insert we wanted to get (and did manage to get a couple of weeks ago) was the a close-up of the Red Queen. In the scene, the Red Queen (a chess piece) is being handed from one hand to another. We already had shots of it. But we wanted a closer shot, so it would be clear to the audience exactly what was being passed.

Last October, on the other hand, we were focusing mainly on cutaways. A Cutaway, as the name implies, cuts away from the action, usually to show simultaneous action; it also can be used to create suspense. It is a shot that introduces content or scenery that is away from the central action of the scene at hand.

We got permission to film in the black dirt region of Chester (our main filming location). We wanted some wide open shots. (If you look closely at the photo, that's us with the camera back in October. It was magic hour.)