Continuity Editing

Today's lesson covered continuity editing which will help my thriller maintain a sense of realistic chronology and to represent time passing fluidly regardless of whether I vary the narrative or not.

I learned about three different methods of continuity editing which are:

1- Eye-line match:

• We see a character staring at an object/character off-screen and then we cut to a shot which reveals what the character in looking at.
• This method significantly links the two objects/characters together

2- Match-on-action:

• We see a character carry out an action in one shot and then continue to carry out this same action in another. Example:

3- Graphic match:

• Two shots are linked with objects of similar shape providing a smooth visual transfer from one frame to the next. An example of this is in 2001: A Space Odyssey when the bone fades into a spaceship to show the passing of time.

The 180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline that states that two characters in the same scene must have the same left/right relationship as one another. 'Crossing the line' is when the camera passes the imaginary axis which would break the left/right relationship. 

The Hunger Games contains an example of where the rule is broken ineffectively without purpose and effectively with purpose.


This is an extract in which the rule is broken ineffectively which causes confusion.

Now, here is an extract in which the rule is broken with effect. Its purpose is to express Katniss' astonishment at the opulence of the room because she comes from a very poor, deprived background.

(...)

Shot/Reverse Shot

Shot/Reverse shot is used to show conversations/arguments. In the first shot, we could use a master shot to identify Speaker A and B. Following this, we would film a shot of Speaker A opening the conversation. The response would be the 'reverse shot' and an over the shoulder shot could be used here to identify Speaker B.