Rules Of Continuity

Rules of Continuity

Continuity editing is an illusion that creates the appearance of continuous action in a film. It is used to carry on the story from where it left off and take you into another space to develop the narrative. It is done by using these rules:

•180° Rule- The basics of this rule is used in a dialogue between two or more people. Like in the picture shown before, there is an invisible line in between the two people. The red side of the floor is the no go area and the green side shows the area that the camera can go in. It can be placed anywhere in that region, even on the line. As the diagram shows, the camera needs to stay in the same line of action so that the actors look like they’re talking to each other. 

•In this scene from V for Vendetta (Dir. James McTeigue, 2005) the 180° rule has been used in this dialog between two characters. Throughout the scene, they both move around however the camera always makes sure the rule is followed by not crossing the line of action. This ensures that Natalie Portman’s character is always on the right hand side looking at the left and the other character is on the left hand side looking right, so it looks like they are talking to each other even though they aren’t shown in the same shot.

From the screenshot this creates an eye-line match.

 

 

 

 

 

Match on Action- This is used all the time but is disguised by the editor because of the illusion. Match on action is used in most cuts. In the example of the Katherine Hepburn film (dir.) K begins to light the match from the table, then in the cut is put in between so we see her with the match lit, at a mid shot. 

Eye-line match- signifies what the character is looking at. For example in the film Inception, you see Leonardo looking down to draw, then you see what he’s drawing. This shows the eye-line match because it is showing the audience what he is looking at. Eye-line match can also be when two people are having a conversation and they are both looking at each other at the same eye level.

Shot reverse shot- This is used mainly when there is a conversation between two or more people. The camera keeps on cutting between the two people several times so that the audience don’t get bored, and so that they can observe each characters body language/facial expression to the conversation.

 

Cross Cutting/ Parallel Action- This editing technique is used to show two different stories at once. For example, if there were two main characters in a film both trying to get to the same destination, the screen would be showing the audience a clip from one persons journey, then cutting to the other persons journey. The reason why this type of editing is called parallel action is because it is showing two different things that are happening at the same time. This technique is used alot in the action film genre.

The picture above is a good example from the film Inception (Dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010). The top of the picture is showing what is happening in reality, the second shows what is happening in the first dream and the last picture shows the second dream. These are all things  that are happening at the same time. Throughout the film when these three different places are shown, the editor constantly cuts form one scene into another to show that all three scenes are happening at the same time.