Task 7 - Understanding Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing became known as the 'Classical Hollywood' Style editing that was developed by early European and American directors this can be seen in D.W. Griffith films known as 'The Birth of A Nation' and 'Intolerance'.
This classical style ensures temporal (time) and spatial (space) continuity as a way of advancing narrative. there are a few techniques such as the 180 degree rule, match on action, shot,eye-line match and shot, reverse shot.

This style retain a sense of realistic chronology and gives the audience the feeling of time moving on.
in continuity editing, you can have flash forwards or even flashbacks just as long as the narrative will still be seen moving forward in a realistic way.


Eye-line Match
 To use Eye-line match, the two shots have to link together. In this technique, we can see the character looking at something that is off screen then cuts to a shot of whatever the object that the character is looking at. This allows the audience to experience an event in the film the same way that the character is experiencing it.


















This image shows a perfect example of Eye-Line Match because we see the actress looking at a object that is off screen in the first shot but then in the second shot the camera turns to the object that the actress was looking at which just happens to be the painting.

Match-On-Action
To use Match-On-Action, the two shots have to link together. This technique shows the character starting a action in one shot before the camera cuts to a new angle and we can see the character finish off the action in the second shot, this ensures that the action seems natural and realistic to anyone who watches the shots.



















This image from the movie scream is a good example of Match-On-Action because you can see how both of the shots are linked together. In the first shot you have the actress running towards the door and in the next shot you see how she is locking the same door in hopes that it will save her from being killed by whoever it is that is trying to get her.

Shot, Reverse Shot
To use Shot, Reverse Shot, the two shots need to link together. In one shot it reveals one character talking and then the other shot shows the other character giving their response to the first character. This technique allows the audience to connect the two characters and realize that they are interacting with one another.

This image is good for shot reverse shot because in one shot you can tell that there is two people on the screen. In the other shot you see that the camera has turned to have more of a close up on the first actress this is to show that she is talking to the second actress. In the last shot you can see the camera has turned and you can see a close up of the second actress. This shows the it is now her turn to reply to the first actress.



180 Degree Rule

The 180 Degree Rule is a basic guideline the states that the characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship with each other and if the camera passes over the imaginary axis, it is known as crossing the line.