CONTINUITY EDITING

Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing retains a sense of realistic chronology and generates the feeling that time is moving forward. You can use flashbacks or flash-forwards, but the narrative will still be seen so it can progress forward in a expected or realistic way. 

Continuity Editing is very important because it relates images in a kind of logical sense. It includes invisible cuts, which no one would recognise as long as someone is always moving. When using the continuity editing it makes the cuts look like it continuos so the audience are unable to notice the cuts

Continuity cuts consist of:

Eyeline Match

This is where we see a character looking at something off screen and then we cut to a short of what they are looking at. 

For example in Star Warss

As you can see in this scene, the women is looking straight forward, then it cuts to show the stormtroopers then it cuts back to her. We would never know that she is just looking forward we would think that she is looking directly at these stormtroopers.

Match on Action

This is where we see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next shot. 

With this you can see the young lady is walking toward the stairs, then cuts to show her walking up the stairs, it looks like there is a camera on either side but there isn't. It films her walking towards the stairs, then it cuts and then it films her walking up the stairs.

Graphic Match

The graphic match shot is when two shots are linked with a similar shape or composition of an image. It also puts shot together.

In this shot, you can see it start with the microorganisms then it blends in and we see the tear drop on the leaf and then it turns into the earth. This is a graphic match because it looks like it been blended in together but its two different shots which are linked together.

180 Degree Rule

This is a basic guideline that states that two character (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects it is called crossing the line. 


However if you fail to follow this then you have broken the 180 Degree Rule for example in the Hunger Games they deliberately brake the 180 Degree Rule.

Shot/ Reverse Shot
Which is mainly used in conversations / arguments.