continuity editing
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Basics of Continuity Editing
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 2: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
“Editing shots together imperceptibly so that the action of a sequence appears continuous.”
source: History of Narrative Film, David A. Cook
Continuity Editing
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 3: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Continuity Editing
THREE BASIC CONCEPTS
1. Use multiple takes from different angles/takes 2. Follow the 180 degree “rule”3. Utilize subject or action’s sight lines/eye trace
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 4: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
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.
A CUT is the “instantaneous change from one shot to another”
source: Sight, Sound, and Motion, Herbert Zettl
Continuity Editing
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 5: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Continuity Editing
View From An Engine Front, Ilfracombe, (1898)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 6: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Continuity Editing
View From An Engine Front, Ilfracombe, (1898)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 7: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 8: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
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.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 9: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Continuity Editing
The Great Train Robbery, Edwin S. Porter (1903)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 10: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Continuity Editing
The Great Train Robbery, Edwin S. Porter (1903)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 11: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 12: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 13: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
How many individual takes make up a continuous edit in a single scene?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 14: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
How many individual takes make up a continuous edit in a single scene?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 15: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 16: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 17: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Continuity Editing
INSERT SHOT
“Usually a close-up showing an important detail of a scene.”
source: Film Directing, Shot by Shot, Steven D. Katz
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 18: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 19: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 20: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 21: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Continuity Editing
HOW MANY TAKES WERE THERE?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 22: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULEa.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.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 23: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Illustration painted by grm_wnr for en:180 degree rule.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 24: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Rushmore, Wes Anderson, (1998)
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 25: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Rushmore, Wes Anderson, (1998)
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 26: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 27: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 28: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 29: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 30: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 31: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 32: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 33: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 34: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 35: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 36: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 37: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 38: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE & CHARACTER PLACEMENT
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 39: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
Continuity Editing
180 DEGREE RULE & CHARACTER PLACEMENT
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 40: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
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
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 41: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 42: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
Continuity Editing
Arrested Development, FOX, (2003)
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 43: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 44: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 45: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 46: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 47: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 48: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 49: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 50: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tracking shot – last scene of Boogie Nights
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 51: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/51.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES
Tracking shot – last scene of Boogie Nights
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 52: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/52.jpg)
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.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 53: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/53.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES & 180 DEGREE RULE AS EXTREME
Peep Show, BBC
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
![Page 54: Continuity Editing](https://reader034.vdocuments.us/reader034/viewer/2022042815/5571f89c49795991698dc222/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
Continuity Editing
SIGHT LINES & 180 DEGREE RULE AS EXTREME
Peep Show, BBC
Tuesday, September 15, 2009