rough cut

Meaning

A rough cut is the first tentative assembly of a film or video, where the scenes are placed in the correct order but without fine tuning, smooth transitions, final sound, or special effects. It gives the director and editors a basic sense of the story's flow and pacing before detailed editing begins.

Examples

• The editor showed us a rough cut of the documentary to get our initial feedback.

  The editor showed us a rough cut of the documentary to get our initial feedback.

• Don't worry about the bad lighting in this scene; this is just a rough cut.

  Don't worry about the bad lighting in this scene; this is just a rough cut.

• We need to have a rough cut ready for the producers by Friday afternoon.

  We need to have a rough cut ready for the producers by Friday afternoon.

• Even in the rough cut, you can tell the chemistry between the lead actors is amazing.

  Even in the rough cut, you can tell the chemistry between the lead actors is amazing.

• They decided to cut two major scenes after watching the first rough cut.

  They decided to cut two major scenes after watching the first rough cut.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I finished the rough cutting of my video last night.

  ✓ I finished the rough cut of my video last night.

  The term 'rough cut' is a noun phrase used to describe the version of the film itself, not 'rough cutting'.

• ✗ The movie is playing in theaters in its rough cut.

  ✓ The movie is playing in theaters in its final cut.

  A rough cut is an unfinished, internal working draft and is never shown in commercial theaters.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The director was happy with the ___ of the film, even though the sound wasn't mixed yet.

  💡 The first basic version of an edited video

  Show answer

  rough cut

• Before we add special effects, we need to lock the ___.

  💡 The initial sequential assembly of scenes

  Show answer

  rough cut