Deleted scene is a commonly-used term in the entertainment industry, especially the film and television industry, which usually refers specifically to scenes removed from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film (including television serials). It is occasionally, but rarely, referred to as a "cut scene", but due to the usage of "cut scene" in reference to video games, the preference seems to be to call it "deleted" instead. A related term is "extended scene", which refers to scenes (such as fight scenes or montages) which were shortened for the final version of the film. Often extended scenes will be included in collections of deleted scenes, or also referred to as deleted scenes themselves. A cut scene or cutscene (sometimes also referred to as a cinematic) is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no control. ... In motion picture terminology, a montage (from the French for putting together or assembly) is a film editing technique. ...

Scenes are removed, replaced, or shortened in films for a variety of reasons, including:

• The studio or network that is providing funding or support for, owns the rights to, or plans to air or distribute the film or films (usually the prior two) may be uncomfortable with a certain scene, and ask that it be altered or else removed or replaced entirely. This kind of situation seems to be most common in the production of television series, since networks and channels often have to be mindful of how the viewers, critics, and/or censors will react to it, and may be afraid of losing ratings, incurring fines, or having trouble finding advertizers. The 2002 Fox series Firefly's original pilot episode ("Serenity", parts 1 & 2) had such a change made, with the original scene featuring on the later DVD box set release of the series as one of several bonus features (including three other deleted scenes).

• Concerns about running time. In feature films, since longer films sometimes draw fewer theatre-goers during a theatrical run, especially if they are longer than two hours, sometimes scenes are cut to keep the length of the film's theatrical cut shorter (this may or may not have happened with some of the Harry Potter feature films, including an arguably important transitional/plot-related scene in the second film which was not in the theatrical cut, but was released on the 2-disc DVD along with several other deleted scenes). In television serials, however, running time becomes an even greater concern, due to the strict timeslot limitations, especially on channels which are ad-supported, where there can only be approximately 20 minutes of actual show per half-hour timeslot (depending on the station and the particular format of the show, this may or may not include opening credits; closing credits may or may not count towards running time, either, in some cases, because many ad-supported stations now "squish" the closing credits or force them into a split-screen in order to show more advertizing), and the majority of shows are either in a half-hour or one-hour timeslot. This forces producers of television serials (with the notable exception of miniseries) to both break up the acts in a manner that will make the viewer want to continue watching after the ad-break, and to not go over the average 20 minutes/half-hour running time limits. As of late, more television series seem to have started to allow for more scenes even when they cannot possibly be fit into the strict running times, specifically as a bonus to fans at a later date - ABC's Desperate Housewives is a prime example of this, using its "Secret Scenes" as a special, exclusive bonus to the next day's Good Morning America's programming during season 1, as well as being included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the series.

• Disruption of narrative flow. Sometimes having a certain scene or version of a scene in the film - especially those that are not television serials, which arguably can allow themselves to be "side-tracked" more so than feature films - can actually have an adverse effect on the film as a whole, serving only to slow the film down, to provide unnecessary details or exposition, or to even over-explain points that might be better left either unsaid or more subtly-handled. There are many examples of this, including a number of the deleted scenes on the DVD release of Firefly sequel film Serenity (in fact, the audio commentary on the DVD's deleted scenes collection quite often makes mention of the plot or tension being disrupted or slowed by the inclusion of a scene and/or expositional overkill being the main reason for the scene in question's non-inclusion in the final theatrical cut). The Harry Potter films also, due partially to their origin (lengthy novels which cover entire years at a boarding school), tend to feature a lot of scenes which though they may work in the original novel, slow the film down - many times, such scenes end up being cut from the theatrical cut and included solely on the DVD version. Many critics of the second and third Matrix films also argue that certain action sequences in the films were too drawn out, causing the film to be too long and too slow and therefore to lose some of their intended emotional punch, though there is sometimes disagreement between fans on whether most of these scenes were unnecessary or not.

Deleted or extended scenes can come in any of several different forms - they may or may not feature finished special effects (especially in science fiction and fantasy films, where visual effects are more expensive), and the film quality may or may not be the same as in the rest of the film, though in some cases this may depend on how much post-production editing was done. Additionally, animated films' deleted scenes may feature anything from a fully-animated scene, to a scene with only partial or non-colored animation (especially common in CG-animated features), or it may feature storyboards or concept sketches with the audio of the scene playing over them, as is the case with the deleted scenes on the DVD release of Finding Nemo. Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered on television in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. ... In computer science, runtime describes the operation of a computer program, the duration of its execution, from beginning to termination (compare compile time). ... This article is about the Harry Potter series. ... In film, split screen is the visible division of the screen, traditionally in half, but also in several simultaneous images, rupturing the illusion that the screens frame is a seamless view of reality, similar to that of the human eye. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... In theater, an act (noun) is a short performance that is part of a longer program. ... Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004, in HDTV. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional Fairview, Eagle State the series tracks the lives of four housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries involving their husbands, friends and... Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered on television in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. ... Serenity is a film written and directed by Joss Whedon. ... The Matrix series consists primarily of three films, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, all written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and set in the same universe. ... Lasers were used in the 2005 Classical Spectacular concert Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... Computer graphics (CG) is the field of visual computing, where one utilizes computers both to generate visual images synthetically and to integrate or alter visual and spatial information sampled from the real world. ... Finding Nemo is a computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released to theatres by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on May 30, 2003, in Australia on the 28th of August, 2003. ...

Deleted scenes and extended scenes are becoming increasingly popular and common as an extra on DVD releases, both for feature films such as the Harry Potter series or Serenity, or The Lord of the Rings trilogy (whose DVDs sported a special feature that allowed the viewer to watch the film with the deleted scenes inserted directly into it, to form the director's cut), and for TV series such as Veronica Mars, Desperate Housewives, and Firefly. Deleted scenes are not always available with alternate language options, either for audio or subtitles, or with closed captioning. This article is about the Harry Potter series. ... Serenity is a film written and directed by Joss Whedon. ... The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie poster (2001) The Lord of the Rings (film) redirects here. ... A Directors cut is a specially edited version of a movie that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit of the movie. ... Veronica Mars is an American teen drama/neo-noir series currently broadcast on UPN. The show is about the titular high school student, who moonlights as a private investigator under the wing and to the chagrin of her detective father. ... Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004, in HDTV. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional Fairview, Eagle State the series tracks the lives of four housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries involving their husbands, friends and... Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered on television in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. ... Production of teletext subtitles A subtitle can refer to one of two things: textual versions of a film or television programs dialogue that appear onscreen, or an explanatory or alternate title of a work, in addition to its main title. ... A commonly-used symbol indicating that a program or movie is closed-captioned. ...

The DVD release for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's feature film also featured not only a handful of regular deleted scenes, but also two spoof "Really Deleted" scenes, which poked fun at certain cliches and aspects of the film-creation process. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science-fiction movie based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ...