Task Seven - Understanding Continuity Editing

In this task I will be writing a detailed post that will explain what continuity editing is, where you see it and why editors might use it. I will be describing: Match on Action, Eye-line Match, Shot, Reveres Shot and 180 degree rule.

In the film industry continuity editing is the main style of video and film editing. The reason for this old type of style is because continuity editing is to confirm temporal and spatial continuity as a way of advancing narrative, using such techniques as the 180 degree rule, Match on Action, and Shot, Reverse Shot. The continuity editing style of editing was developed by the early European and American directors, in particular D.W Griffith in his film such as “The Birth if a Nation. In this movie we see D.W. Griffith use continuity editing style to make the film for effective to the audience, which creates a sense of meaning to the film. Continuity editing is very important in the film industry, it helps to retain a sense of realistic chronology and generates the feeling that time is moving forward. But it does not mean you cannot uses flashbacks or flash forwards, as long as the narrative will still be seen to be progressing forward in an expected or realistic way.

Eye Line Match
The first type of continuity editing that I am going to talk about is Eye Line Match. This is where you see a person or character in the a film looking at an object or person which is not viewable in the shot, because of this, the film leaves the audience to think what the person or character is look at, then in the next shot we are able to see what the person or character was looking at in the previous shot. They are different ways that filmmakers can use eye line match, first is they may use it for creating a sense of illusion inside the audience as the filmmakers leave them wandering what the character was looking at in the other shot. The secondly the filmmakers may use it to create an effect of surprise and tension to give the audience a shock. An example of this would in the film Conjuring from 1:22 – 1:30. It show how the girl looks at the thing, then in the next shot we see what she was looking at in the previous shot creating a sense of mystery or shock. If the audience did not see what the person or character was looking at in the film they would not start to make their own meaning of what the character saw.

Match on Action

The second type of continuity editing I am going to talk about is Match on Action. Match on Action is where the filmmaker starts an action of something in one shot and finish it in the next shot. Filmmaker may uses this because it ensure that the action seems like one natural and realistic movement even when the actor may have really performed it twice.  When making the Match on Action shots, through shooting two shots you can adjust the spot of the cameras without shifting the continue rhythm of the scene. An example of this would be in “The Matrix” from 0:09 – 0:15 clip. The Camera can be place when the Neo is entering the Metal detector, in the next shot the camera can be moved in front of Neo to see him coming out the detector. When filmmakers or director uses the Match on Action style, they have to make sure that camera man and the actors are in the same spot in both shots, to make sure that the shots make sense. If director did not use the Match on Action on right place, than it would make a jump cut, which ruins the continuous flow of the shot. 

180 degree rule

The third type of style of continuity editing, that I am going to talk about is 180 degree rule. This type of rule is about the positioning of the camera when in a scene. This rule accrues when we see characters having a conversation between themselves. Throughout the scene of the conversation the camera man must ensure that the camera stays one side of the made up axis, making sure that the characters are on the right side as they were before, so if character A was on the left side and B on the right side and the camera turned around, both characters would have to switch places to be in the right side as they were before. The reason for directors to uses this type of technique is because enable the audience to visually connect with the movement happening around the characters. If directors broke the rule the rule, it would course confession to the audience in scenes of chase, conversation or sports. An example of the 180 degrees rule would be in the Fast Five movie where Toretto vs Hobbs, we see both characters in the same side while the camera shot is being moved from 0:20 - 0:34. 

Shot Reveres Shot

The last type of style of continuity editing, that I am going to talk about is Shot, Reverse Shot. This type of style of continuity editing is about the camera facing a character when talking in a conversations between other characters. It accrues in conversation scenes, where the camera changes between the characters faces, so in a scene, the first shot is character A talking to character B and the camera is facing at character A, in the next shot character B is talking to character A and the camera is facing character B, it creates a continue effect of going back and forth to the different characters. The reason for directors using this type of technique is because it allows the audience to bond the two characters and realise that they are interacting with each other. Also Shot reverse shot often ties in with the 190 degree rule to retain continuity by not distorting the audience’s sense of location of the characters in the shot. An example of this technique would be in the “Lord of the Ring” movie, where Gollum talks to himself 0:40 – 2:00.