Match on action

A 'Match On Action' is when an 'A' shot is shown and completed by a 'B' shot. From the A to the B shot the perspective is changed, an example of this would be the 'A' shot being a head on shot of someone walking towards the camera and then going to a 'B' shot where the person has walked straight past the camera and are now being filmed from behind but the shot eg medium close up will stay the same. Match on action shots should flow properly, this involves having a cut but one that is very discrete and not long.

A match on action should follow the persons movements, it is possible to have more than one match on action in a row. This can be seen in the clip below. This is a good example of a match on action as the cuts are very discrete but allow us to follow the girls movement. 

Match on action is vital to show continuity throughout a sequence of shots, it is vital for them to flow and not be jumpy but cuts are needed to break the sequence up to show the movement. An example where this can be seen is in the sequence before taken from a film called Traffic.





















Image sequence taken from http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/editing.htm

Match on action is vital to films to enable us to understand the movement of a film and where the film is heading next. A match on action needs to be done carefully and encompass a variety of shots to create the best one from different angles, when done well they make the whole film far easier to understand and have a large impact on the viewer. 


Below is an example of a practise match on action edit, it is only short but it was our first attempt and has proved to work well.