# Hard cut

Edit / Transition / Cuts. Checked 2026-11-13.

Nothing softens the change, so attention goes straight to what happens next.

- Use when: Ads played straight, talking heads, most short-form edits.
- Phrase: hard cut on the action, no transition effect between the shots
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/transition/hard-cut
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/transition/hard-cut.json

## Watch out

- Our own 25-second spec ad uses hard cuts only, each on the action: 2.4 visual changes per 10 seconds, median shot 2.57 seconds. Any other transition is listed as a failure of that style. (measured; Director Chair measurement of a published short, 22 Oct 2026)
- Hard cuts land on movement or a beat, never on a still pose. (vendor; Director Chair field notes on video prompting)

## Prompts

### Seedance 2.5

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot. Cut: hard cut on the action, no transition effect between the shots
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1: one continuous shot. Cut: hard cut on the action, no transition effect between the shots
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. Hard cut on the action, no transition effect between the shots.
```

### Veo 3.1

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Hard cut on the action, no transition effect between the shots. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
```

## Goes well with

- Cut on action: https://directorchair.ai/transition/cut-on-action
- Jump cut: https://directorchair.ai/transition/jump-cut
- Title card on black: https://directorchair.ai/transition/title-card-on-black

## Source

Own words from Director Chair measurement of a published short, Oct 2026 (our own film) and Director Chair field notes on editing

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.