Editing - Shot/ Reverse Shot

Shot/Reverse Shot is an editing technique that defined as multiple shots edited together in a way that alternates characters, typically to show both sides of a conversation situation. There are multiple ways this can be accomplished, with common examples being over the shoulder shots, angled shots, left/right alternating shots, and often a combination of the three.

See examples and video clips below

In the first clip below, from Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa, we see a standard over the shoulder SRS. This, combined with eye-line matches between the two main negotiators shows how focused each is on the other. The over the shoulder technique allows the viewer to see the facial expressions of each character while listening or speaking. More importantly, the over the shoulder technique creates a sense of space between the characters greater than the actual distance between them. This keeps the frame from being uncomfortably cramped, and also shows the distance between the characters’ different standpoints.



The second clip is from director John Dahl’s Rounders. There is a bit of an experimental aspect to the SRSs in the clip. As opposed to the clip above, the SRS technique is used to distort space in such a way that we observe less than there actually is. In reality there is an 8 or so foot table separating the characters: the SRS lessens this to a point where the scene seems almost intimate. We see the characters alternating left and right sides, which is a standard ploy of continuity editing. Again, eye-line matches are used to show how intensely each character is focusing on the other.