Scene Handle

n incidental or seemingly unnecessary piece of footage, often an 'excessively long tail on a scene' (or 'shoe-leather'), that is repurposed during the edit to become a crucial transitional element. When a film's structure is changed, these handles can be used to imply a new meaning or create a connection that wasn't originally planned. What was once extraneous footage 'saves your ass' by providing the exact material needed to make a new structural idea work.