Walter Murch's Rule of Six

Learning Objective

Understand and apply Walter Murch's six criteria for a good cut.

This Week

Walter Murch articulated the most comprehensive framework for evaluating a cut in his essential book In the Blink of an Eye. He identified six criteria in order of priority: Emotion (51%), Story (23%), Rhythm (10%), Eye Trace (7%), 2D Plane (5%), and 3D Space (4%). The most important lesson: emotion comes first. A cut that violates spatial continuity but preserves the emotional truth of a scene is almost always preferable to a technically perfect cut that feels emotionally wrong.

Daily Practice

Review every cut in a sequence you have previously edited and evaluate each one against Murch's six criteria. Identify cuts that fail on the most important criteria and revise them. (30–45 min)

Weekly Challenge

Edit a 3-minute dialogue scene, and for each cut, write a one-sentence justification based on Murch's criteria.