What is continuity editing in film?
Continuity editing is an editing system
used to maintain consistency of both time and space in the film. Continuity
editing helps ground audiences in the reality of the film while establishing a
clear and structured narrative.
The goal of continuity editing is to make the
mechanisms of filmmaking invisible as to help the audience dismiss disbelief
more easily.
Continuity editing, also referred to as
three-dimensional continuity, is the predominant editing style among commercial
Hollywood films.
Techniques of continuity editing in film
Eye line
Eye trace
180 degree rule
Matching action
Continuity in film follows
a few fundamental rules. Here are a few rules and techniques of continuity
editing. While these rules are occasionally and intentionally broken in
filmmaking, understanding these rules are important for every filmmaker.
CONTINUITY
IN FILM TECHNIQUES
Eyeline
The eyeline match is
one of the most fundamental tools in continuity editing. It aims to fulfill the
expectation of an audience to see what a character is looking at when they are
looking off screen.
When the scene is a
dialogue between multiple people, one character often looks screen left while
the other character looks screen right to maintain the consistency that these
characters are looking at each other. This is fundamental when shooting over the shoulder, shot reverse shot scenes.
The importance of eye line
match occurs when sequential shots may not have been shot chronologically. In
fact, the actors may have been on set at different times. Maintaining the
eyeline match creates the illusion that they are both present in the same room
at the same time in the film.
Eyeline match does not
solely pertain to left or right, but can be more precise such as matching the
height of another character or object vertically. If there are a group of
characters, like in a dinner
scene,
it is important to be precise with the eye lines so that the audience will
understand who each character is looking at
180-degree
rule
If you have taken a class
on editing or cinematography, one of the first rules
you will learn about is the 180-degree
rule.
The 180-degree rule is meant to orient the audience and help them understand
where characters are in relation to each other and their environment.
To do this, you filmmakers
create an imaginary line between two subjects in a scene. Then they keep every
camera setup on the same side of this line, within the same 180 degrees.
The 180-degree rule is important when cutting
between characters in the same space. But what happens when you want to cut to
the same character from a different angle in the same space? This is where the
30-degree rule comes into play.
30-degree
rule
Sometimes filmmakers cut
from one shot of a character to a different shot of the same character either
to change the shot
angle or
cut to different shot
sizes.
To avoid jarring discontinuity editing or a jump
cut the
two different shots must be taken from at least 30-degrees apart.
The 30-degree rule is
incredibly important when shooting with multiple cameras which many
cinematographers often do. It is an important rule that allows filmmakers to
change the perspective of the camera while maintaining the consistency and logic
of the scene.
Some filmmakers purposely
break the 30-degree rule and use a jump cut and discontinuity editing. We’ll
touch on why filmmakers do that in a bit.
WHAT
IS A MATCH ON ACTION CUT?
Matching
action
Editing to match the action
of characters is one of if not the most basic tool to continuity editing. What
is a match on action cut? It is a staple to what some editors refer to as
invisible editing. Matching action simply aims to cut on the same frame of a
character’s action between two shots. In this action scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, pay attention to every
cut and notice how many cut on the action of a character to make the scene
smooth in consistent shot to shot.
This will maintain the
continuity of motion between two takes, otherwise known as invisible editing.
Cutting on action is just one example of a match
cut —
some match cut techniques are designed to maintain continuity while others are
meant to disrupt that flow. To better understand this technique, check out the
video tutorial below.
Cutting on action is
important. Looking for small actions to cut on like a character standing up or
picking up an object will help when cutting to continuity.
CONTINUITY
OF MOTION
Eye
trace
All of the rules of
continuity editing above help maintain the illusion of a scene’s time and
space. Eye trace, on the other hand, is more of a storytelling editing
technique to keep in mind when cutting to continuity.
Eye trace is a technique
and part of Walter
Murch's Rule of Six that
allows an editor and director to direct the audience's eyes and attention
toward a specific detail on screen through a cut. For example, if the first
shot has a subject in the bottom left of the screen, the next shot may have an
important plot detail in the same position to ensure the audience will see
it.
The eye trace is an editing
technique that will immediately elevate the level of your editing. While it
isn’t necessarily a rule of continuity editing, it is an important technique to
keep in mind. It will help you be a more effective editor and storyteller in
the long run.
What is a jump cut?
In filmmaking, a jump cut is an edit
to a single, sequential shot that makes the action appear to leap forward in
time. After the cut, the subject may appear in a different position or
attitude, or the camera position may be slightly different. This cut style is a
great departure from the standard conventions of continuity
editing, which
dictate that the camera angle should change by at least 30 degrees from one
clip to the next.
A brief history of the jump
cut.
In the early 1900s, filmmaker Georges
Méliès discovered the jump cut and used it to portray magic tricks. With cuts
that appeared seamless, Méliès made characters magically disappear and
reappear.
Jump to 1959 and Jean-Luc
Godard’s Breathless. Godard broke the rules with obvious
jump cuts in the same sequence. During a driving scene, the camera angle
remains the same, over the shoulder of the character Patricia in the passenger
seat, but the scenery in the background changes abruptly.
The effect of the discontinuity is to
disorient the viewer and draw attention to the artificial nature of film. Some
claim that Godard was forced by the producer to make drastic cuts to the film,
so he cut it haphazardly out of spite, accidentally creating one of the most
influential films of the French New Wave.
Since Godard, filmmakers have used
jump cuts in countless creative ways. These cuts can work with dramatic or
comedic effect to show the passage of time as a character changes positions in
a single shot. They can use a single camera position to show a character
covering a great distance without making the audience watch every step. Jump
cuts can also portray the point of view of an intoxicated or disoriented
character without resorting to special effects.
What is a montage?
A montage is a series of separate images,
moving or still, that are edited together to create a continuous sequence.
Montages enable filmmakers to communicate a large amount of information to an
audience over a shorter span of time by juxtaposing different shots,
compressing time through editing, or intertwining multiple storylines of a
narrative.
The word “montage” derives from French — meaning
“assembly” or “editing.”
Common Film Techniques Used in Montages:
Music
Quick cuts
Voiceover narration
Minimal or no dialogue
Repeated camera movements
What is a montage used
for? It may depend on the genre of the film. Other times it may depend on what
information is being communicated to the audience.
