A supercut is a genre of video editing consisting of a montage of short clips with the same theme. The theme may be an action, a scene, a word or phrase, an object, a gesture, or a cliché or trope.[1][2][3] The technique has its roots in film and television[2] and is related to vidding.[3] The montage obsessively isolates a single element from its source or sources.[4] It is sometimes used to create a satirical or comic effect[5] or to collapse a long and complex narrative into a brief summary.

History

Supercut videos started appearing on YouTube shortly after the site's creation in 2005.[6] The concept grew in popularity after culture writer Andy Baio covered supercuts in a blog entry in April 2008, which he described them as "genre of video meme, where some obsessive-compulsive superfan collects every phrase/action/cliche from an episode (or entire series) of their favorite show/film/game into a single massive video montage."[7]

The timing for supercuts' popularity aligned with the early history of the Internet, where there was weaker enforcement of copyright that allowed people to both obtain footage by questionable means and share the supercuts with others, and with the availability of easy tools to assemble such supercuts (such as iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro).[6] Around 2010, content owners began to exert copyright control on their products online, including taking down some supercut videos, thus making the prospect of creating a supercut video risky.

Decline of popularity

At the same time, content owners were making their films and television shows available to digital download and streaming services, making it much easier for those wanting to make supercut videos. This caused some lack of quality control in supercuts, according to people like Debbie Saslaw, who had previously produced supercuts for the website Slacktory. Saslaw said that there was a certain type of editorial approach that earlier supercuts had used to tell a type of story with their editing, while newer supercuts haphazardly threw these clips together.[6] A decade since Baio's post, there was a significant waning of supercut videos, a combination of lack of quality, copyright control by content owners, original ideas for supercuts, and a much-larger mix of content that compete for viewership alongside supercuts.[6]

Examples

References

  1. ^ Watch: 17-Minute Supercut Showcases 400 Movies That Broke the Fourth Wall|IndieWire
  2. ^ a b Raftery, Brian (2018-08-30). "I'm Not Here to Make Friends: The Rise and Fall of the Supercut Video". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  3. ^ a b he4ts3eker (2016-07-18). "The evolution of the supercut". Brendan Miller. Retrieved 2018-12-07.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Andy Baio (2008-04-11). "Fanboy Supercuts, Obsessive Video Montages". Waxy.org. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  5. ^ a b Berkowitz, Joe (December 12, 2013). "A Modern Genre: How To Make A Supercut". Master Class. Retrieved 5 January 2014. Supercuts bring attention to the phrases and devices that jaded movie and TV viewers already see over and over--the tics of film and television--and repeat them to comic effect,
  6. ^ a b c d e Raftery, Brian (August 30, 2018). "I'm Not Here To Make Friends: The Rise And Fall Of The Supercut Video". Wired. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  7. ^ Baio, Andy (Apr 11, 2008). "Fanboy Supercuts, Obsessive Video Montages". Retrieved 5 January 2014. This insane montage of (nearly) every instance of "What?" from the LOST series started me thinking about this genre of video meme … For lack of a better name, let's call them supercuts.
  8. ^ Stromberg, Joseph (December 28, 2012). "A 24-Hour Movie That May Be the Biggest (and Best) Supercut Ever". Smithsonian. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  9. ^ Aversa, Ralphie (December 30, 2013). "All the Best News Anchor Bloopers of 2013 in One Glorious Supercut". Yahoo! News: Trending Now. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  10. ^ The Wolf of Wall Street: Just the "F" Words - Supercut posted by Screen Junkies on YouTube
  11. ^ Johnny Depp Making Weird Faces - Supercut posted by Screen Junkies on YouTube
  12. ^ Famous Last Words Movie Mash-Up posted by Screen Junkies on YouTube
  13. ^ Dean, Rob (15 September 2015). "100 dance scenes all sync up to 'Uptown Funk' in this impressive supercut". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  14. ^ The 20 Phrases That Defined 2020 - The New York Times
  15. ^ Every Covid-19 Commercial is Exactly the Same - Microsoft Sam on YouTube
  16. ^ "The Viral Orchard" Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  17. ^ "America" - West Side Story 1961/2021 Supercut on YouTube
  18. ^ Pineda Pacheco, Diego (September 26, 2022). "Better Late Than Never: 10 Great Movies That Had a Decades-Long Gap Between Them and Their Remake". Collider. Retrieved 29 January 2024.

See also

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