Basics of Continuity Editing
Continuity Editing
“Editing shots together imperceptibly so that the action of a sequence appears continuous.” source: History of Narrative Film, David A. Cook
Continuity Editing
“Editing shots together imperceptibly so that the action of a sequence appears continuous.” source: History of Narrative Film, David A. Cook
Continuity Editing
THREE BASIC CONCEPTS 1. Use multiple takes ta kes from different angles/ta a ngles/takes kes 2. Follow the 180 degree “rule” 3. Utilize subject or action’s sight lines/eye trace
Continuity Editing
A CUT is the “instantaneous change from one shot to another” source: Sight, Sound, and Motion, Herbert Zettl
In the early era of film, filmmakers often used a single shot for an entire film, would turn the camera on and off to establish a cut or scene change, or would overlap action from cut to cut.
Continuity Editing
View From An Engine Front, Ilfra Ilfracombe combe,, (1898)
Continuity Editing
View From An Engine Front, Ilfracombe, (1898)
Continuity Editing
Continuity Editing established a way for filmmakers to use the ‘CUT’ to join pieces of film and make action seem continuous. “The mysterious part of it…actually does seem to work, even though it represents a total and instantaneous displacement of one field of vision with another” In the Blink of an Eye, Walter Murch
Continuity Editing
Silent era filmmaker Edwin S. Porter began to make films that told stories ‘in continuity form’ such as the Great Train Robbery. Using cuts to take viewers from one scene to another, time begins to move forward and the shots used begin to illustrate a course of related events, your cinematic narrative.
Continuity Editing
The Great Train Robbery, Edwin S. Porter (1903)
Continuity Editing
The Great Train Robbery, Edwin S. Porter (1903)
Continuity Editing
This method evolved over time and became the Hollywood model of narrative storytelling. In a typical scene from a movie or television, multiple ‘takes’ have been shot from different camera angles and perspectives, then pieced together to create a dynamic representation of a scene. Individual scenes/events are used to further the narrative of the story.
Continuity Editing
Technical standards/rules of shooting and editing have developed into a complex art form. Multiple takes on a shoot gives the editor something to work with in a scene, and many possible directions to take the story. Cutting on dialogue, action, and following sight lines within a scene gives the illusion there is no camera, no multiple takes, that the viewer is a silent witness of a scene. Continuity Editing, when done well, is invisible.
Continuity Editing How many individual takes make up a continuous edit in a single scene?
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
Continuity Editing How many individual takes make up a continuous edit in a single scene?
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
Continuity Editing
ESTABLISHING SHOT
“Typically a long shot at the beginning of a scene designed to inform viewers of a change in location and to orient them to the general mood and relative placement of subjects in the scene.” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
MASTER SHOT
“The viewpoint of a scene in which the relationships between subjects are clear and the entire dramatic action could be understood if no other shots were used (as opposed to the wider, establishing shot)” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
INSERT SHOT
“Usually a close-up showing an important detail of a scene.” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT
“A shot in which a subject who is facing us is composed using the back of the head and the shoulder of another subject in the extreme foreground as a framing device.” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
POINT OF VIEW CLOSE UP SHOT
“A subjective viewpoint, one that is understood to represent an individuals vision.” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
REACTION SHOT
“In a dialogue scene the shot of a player listening while another player’s voice continues on the soundtrack.Most reaction shots are close-ups.” source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
HOW MANY TAKES WERE THERE?
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE a.k.a ‘The Line of Action’ a.k.a. ‘the Axis of Action’ a.k.a. ‘The Triangle System’
The theory of the 180 Degree Rule is that it “organizes camera angles to preserve consistent screen direction and space.” source: Film Directing Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Characters and elements on the screen should maintain the same spacial relationship to each other throughout the scene, shot by shot.
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Illustration painted by grm_wnr for en:180 degree rule.
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Rushmore, Wes Anderson, (1998)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Rushmore, Wes Anderson, (1998)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE & CHARACTER PLACEMENT
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE & CHARACTER PLACEMENT
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES “An imaginary line that is drawn between a subject and the object he or she is looking at. When individual CUs of the two subjects in conversation are joined together in a sequence their sight lines must match in order that they appear to be looking at each other.”
source: Film Directing Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tracking shot – last scene of Boogie Nights
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tracking shot – last scene of Boogie Nights
Continuity Editing
TECHNICAL ELEMENTS
Combining the multiple takes, character placement within the frame, the 180 degree rule, and the character sight lines in your edit should be able to make a fairly sophisticated continuous sequence.
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES & 180 DEGREE RULE AS EXTREME
Peep Show, BBC
