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.