PRINCIPLES OF CONTINUITY

Continuity Editing
I think that the overall rule of continuity in films is to make the process look invisible to the viewer, any change in angle, any transitions any change at all should seem part of the flow of the film and go and edits should be unrecognized by the viewer.
• This is essential in order to allow the audience to suspend their disbelief i.e to forget what they are seeing is a construct.

There are a few more detailed rules that are essential if continuality wants to be assured.

The 180 degree rule – This is quite simple, it just means that when filming you should never cross the ‘line of vision’ between two characters. The reason for this is that it makes sure the viewer makes sense of the scene.

30 degree rule – Changes in camera angle with the same framing should be avoided as viewers may notice a visible jump in the footage.

Match on Action – When a sequence is being filmed and the camera angle changes but the action continues it is vital that the action resumes in the same position so that the scene flows.
Shot Reverse – Include shots of both characters and a master shot so that the audience knows where the characters are in relation to each other.

What I will do in my film?
When filming each shot, it will last longer than I want it to in the final film . I have learn that editing long shots down is much easier that re filming missing footage if the shots are too short to use.
I will be extra careful with lighting and costume when filming on different days so as to keep continuity for my audience.
When putting my editing my shots together, I have learnt it will be important to make sure that the shot angles flow. E.g A high angle should not jump straight to a low angle so as not to disorientate the viewer. A good example would be a long shot being followed by a mid shot.

Accident Task
In our lesson today, we were set the task of portraying an accident scene in 6 shots without the chance to enhance our sequences in the editing suits. We had to do this by shooting one shot after the other as they would appear in the sequence. The sequence we constructed involved a variety of shots including ECU’s and High/Low angles shots. One thing I think that we defiantly should have included if we were allowed more shots would have been a master shot. This would have allowed the audience to see where the characters were in terms of each other, we had tried to show this through using reverse shots on the ECU’s however this was not very clear and a master shot would defiantly be enhancing. I look forward to applying some of the techniques I’ve learnt in my coursework next year.

Why are Storyboards so important?

Why is storyboarding an essential part of the film making process?

A storyboard is used in all types of video media, such as tv music and film. In short it is a visual representation of camera shots in a sequence that join together to build a narrative flow. This particularly useful as if provides everyone from the director to actors exactly whats going on in the shot. Below the pictures a short captions detailing specifics such as action, camera angle and directions as well as lighting. One key reason why storyboarding is essential is because it allows the director to see whether his ideas are going to work on screen and another is so that he can decide the sequences of all shots. Most importantly the storyboard illustrates how the narrative will flow from shot to shot.


What is happening in the opening sequence?
In the opening sequence of the film, we are introduced to the 'psycho' character. The opening shot is a Wide shot of a boys toilet, It is unclear where exactly it is set at this point but I would speculate it something like a hospital or a school or another public building with hard floors. Shot 3 is off blood being washed of the characters hands and falling down the plug. This informs us that the character has ‘blood on his hands’. We are led to believe he is in fact the culprit as we have not seen his face yet, suggesting he has something to hide. So far we have gathered that one character is washing away his guilt, a boy then enters the room however the psycho remains unaware of this. He seems to hear a sound and we tilt up from his bandaged hand to a close up of the man. He turns his head quick and we cut a an extreme close-up of the man glaring at the camera/boy. The sequence fades to black and the line ‘bad move kid’ accompanied by two gunshots is heard.


How is the narrative flow established?
The narrative flow of the opening sequence is established through two main ways. The first way the is the captions and annotations below each shot describing the shot and the angles used. The arrows linking the shots together not only tell the reader where to go next but it also shows the transition of each shot e.g. ‘cut’ or ‘mix to’.


If I was directing this sequence, how would I change it?
One thing i would defiantly change is the transitions, seeing as the genre is thriller to build tension I would replace the fades and mixes with cuts and these make the sequence more tense for example the last shot should cut rather than fade to emphasise the gunshots. Two things I might change: expand the first shot to a VLS so that we can be more certain on the location of the sequence.

Dark Knight opening sequence

This is the opening scene of the Dark Knight (2008 Christopher Nolan), the scene begins with a forward pan over fictional city Gotham which will remind the audience of New York city. The slow zooming pan allows the audience time to guess what may be happening at the start of this film. It zooms in a glass building when suddenly a window smashes and the scene cuts to a medium close up. The man appears to by holding some sort of weapon ans is masked as a clown, this makes the audience wander what has he got to hide where as more regular cinema goers may correctly guess a bank robbery. The music in this scene is very fast tense and repetitive which suggests the urgency of these men. We cut to a long shot of another man holding a bag and a mask with his back turned to us, the camera zooms to a mask. The events seem to be very well planned out and more members of the audience will now suspect a bank robbery which connotes a crime or thriller genre film. The signifier for this is the tense music as well as the costumes of the characters, all wear dark clothing and we do not see their faces. The big close up of the mask builds tension suggesting the element of action. This element is confirmed as the scene uses cross cutting to show the two teams of robbers preparing. We cut to a medium long shot of a suited man in his office, this appears to be the bank manager and we believe that he is a good character of key significance. This is further shown through a very long shot where we see him shoot through his window killing one of the robbers. The emergence of this main character and violence through weapons signifies the crime thriller genre and we hope for him to be the hero in this early actions scene. For the next few seconds it appears for the manager to be triumphanthowever he is demoted to the floor and the robbers seem to be on top. The following shots are of the money being stolen before a long shot of a confrontation between two of the villains features. E can tell by the tones of their voice which character is the main one, the one on the right speaks with a calm horse tone compared to the edgy panicking voice of the gunman. More action follows when a bus burst through the wall sending the weaker villain to the floor. The use of levels further shows which of the characters is in control where the main villain towers over the floored one and with the drivers help loads the bus with money. A high angle long shot then shows the bank manager sprawled across the floor, the camera shot shows the audience that the manger is powerless, small and in no way in control. This is further shown by the placement of the gun at least a meter out of his reach. He yells out the villain who retaliates by walking over to him aggressively but slowly and crouching beside him clearly showing no fear. An over the shoulder shot shows him place some sort of gas canister in the managers mouth. We cut to a big close up of the villain as he removes his mark revealing a painted white face, lips smeared with red paint and panda eyes. The character is very intimidating and some audience members may back into their chairs, the dark lighting on his face especially on his eyes shows us the character is evil, he then causes the string attached to the gas canister to open it releasing what appears to be deadly gas which intoxicates the manger. Expertly in a way that the audience despite being shocked are forced to admire he escapes in a yellow bus and a very long shot shows him camouflage into traffic of other school buses.