flash cut

Noun

flash cut (plural flash cuts)

1. A change made to a complex system with immediate effect, one made without a phase-in period.
2. A quick move from the weak side toward the ball.
   • Be in a strong, balanced stance and ready to withstand any contact that may take place as you stop the flash cut.1994, Hal Wissel, Basketball: Steps to Success, →ISBN, page 201
   • If the opponent's post players have an advantage in size and strength, the flash cut will not be as effective because the defender can step in front of the cut and use and arm bar to prevent it from being executed.2007, Kathy McGee, Coaching Basketball Technical and Tactical Skills, →ISBN, page 144
3. An fast cut, often as short as one frame, used to create a subliminal effect on the viewer.
   • Peter Weir's The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), for example, begins with two brothers driving through the small town of Paris, Australia, only to suddenly encounter — via flash cut — a blinding white light in the road.2004, David Scott Diffrient, “A Film is Being Beaten: Notes on the Shock Cut and the Material Violence of Horror”, in Horror Film, →ISBN, page 231
   • Essential in music videos and common in flashbacks and dream sequences, the flash cut flickers many images across the screen over a period of a second or two. The effect passes quickly, but creates a visually intense moment.2006, Chris Kenworthy, Digital Video Production Cookbook, →ISBN, page 79