Walter Murch's Rule Of Six

Through reading 'In The Blink Of An Eye', I learnt that when it comes to film and film editing, Murch has six main rules of evaluating a cut, or deciding where to cut:

1. Emotion - you have to think about how this particular cut will affect your target audience emotionally at this particular section of the film. (Emotion is most important - the audience is always first)

2. Story - does the cut help move the story forward in a meaningful way?

3. Rhythm - does the cut make a rhythm? or a rhythmic sense?

4. Eye Trace - the cut affects the location/movement of the audience's focus in the film

5. Two Dimensional Place of Screen - is the axis followed properly?

6. Three Dimensional Space - does the cut stay true to the established physical and spacial relationships
created?

- Art of Guillotine