2001: A Space Odyssey (Match Cut)

Within editing, a match cut is when two consecutive shots have compositional elements that match. A match cut can be used for aesthetic reasons, for a greater flow of action or to show metaphoric or thematic connections.

One of the most famous match cuts is in the opening to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. It opens with a sequence of apes fighting. One of the apes picks up a bone and realises that it can be used as a weapon and uses this to win the fight. Other apes catch on and use bones from the floor as weapons. This sequences represents one of the first discoveries of tools. An ape then throws a bone into the air. After a close up tracking shot of the bone flying into the air, the next shot we see is that of a space craft in space. The space craft is of a similar shape to the bone, in the same part of the frame and angled the same.

This match cut shows a vast temporal shift but represents the cause and effect of how that ape making the first discovery of tools led to the great technological wonder of a space craft.