Cutting to the beat
Watch as an animation →Time the cuts, movements and transitions to the music's beat, giving rhythm and a satisfying feel.
Almost every Short and ad.
Choose the music first and set cut length by BPM (at 120 BPM, units of 0.5 seconds). Write the lengths in the shot list as multiples of the beat, and put the peak of the action (a landing, a burst) on the downbeat.
Eight shots of one dancer in a neon studio at 120 BPM, each exactly 0.5 seconds, one per beat, hard cuts: foot lands, hand claps, hat tosses, curtain flaps, light flashes, spin, jump, final freeze pose. Same studio and palette, the strongest motion peak on every beat, with a steady four-on-the-floor kick track.