What Is A Cutaway Shot?
A cutaway is also known as a band-aid because it’s a tidy way to patch a cut. It can take many different forms, but its function is always to provide the editor with options in the cutting room. A cutaway can manipulate tension, convey humor or cast doubt or ambiguity on a scene, among other things. In a way, the director can speak directly to the audience with a band-aid. Whether they are winking at us mischievously, as in An American Werewolf in London, or making us question the story we are given like in Brokeback Mountain. A cutaway in the command of a skilled director has infinite possible uses.