Why continuity is important in editing

What is Continuity Editing? I recommend reading the article that is linked here to understand this technique better, but basically, it means you are cutting between two shots in the middle of an action. Our eyes are always fixed on where there is action, so when you cut on action, that helps to cover any discontinuity in the shot.

The Diegetic sound Technique — Using a sound in the background that will go through the cut, can help for continuity editing. Sometimes, merely using room-tone can do the job. The most known example is character dialogue — One character is talking, and while she keeps talking, the camera moves to the other character, while the sound of the talking character is still on.

Using the Establishing Shot — An establishing shot is a long shot that we are usually using at the beginning of a scene to establish the scene as it helps us to establish all the information we need about the scene.

If we have a problem attaching two shots, we can insert the establishing shot between them. There is a red mark on the close up of the chest, but the red mark is gone when she gets up with the needle in her chest. The scene is full of energy, it uses a very smart cutting on action technique and the actors give such an excellent performance that it is not noticeable. Sign up our social Facebook Instagram.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. But as I said, my look is impossible to get perfectly the same but I wanted to set myself a challenge.

Did you take enough images of your work from every angle? Yes, I was in the studio for nearly 10 minutes shooting my look trying to get clear images from every angle possible. I had close ups of the peeled parts to ensure I could get it similar next time. Did you make sure you had the first images to hand when repeating the look for a second time? Yes, I had these in a folder next to me so I could flick through and look at each image as I was creating the look.

This helped when it came to do my second assessment as I was able to see exactly where everything went. And once the fullers earth came off, there was no sticking it back on as it just crumbled! I am pleased with my professionalism and the way I had put my products out and I am also really happy with my design. Last year, I played it safe and I said to myself that this year I needed to push the boat out in order for me to achieve a higher grade.

I think I have done this as I could have played it safe again by sticking to a really simple design that is really easy to recreate but to me that is boring. They are the reactions I got from people and that made me feel great.

It made me feel like I had achieved something. What would you do differently next time? Instead, I would perhaps take bigger pieces of fullers earth off, so that there was only a few cracks on the face with sections of colour bursting through. This would probably made it easier because if it cracked and fell off somewhere else, it could have blended in to a section that was meant to fall off.

But if I had to improve, I think it would be by having a structured time plan, like 20 minutes to paint the colour wheel etc in order for me to keep myself on track. Although some how I did complete the look in time on both assessments! I have learnt that continuity is hard but only if you make it hard for yourself.

In the industry, you have to be creative and be able to set yourself challenges. While it is great to do a simple design and recreate it perfectly, if you were given a harder design to recreate many people would struggle. I did struggle in terms of getting it exactly the same, but if my design was in a film, someone would have to recreate it to the best of their ability. This year is time for me to be really creative and challenge myself, I would rather risk something and for it to not work then for me to not push myself at all.

At least you can learn from it. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. December 3, December 10, What is continuity in film?

Why is it important? Who is responsible for continuity? What are some of the different areas of continuity? As a hair and makeup artist, what issues may affect continuity? How to prepare for continuity Analyse and break down the script to determine issues that might affect hair and makeup continuity. Make sure there will be enough equipment, e. Maintaining hair and makeup continuity during productions Check performers hair and makeup at the beginning and end during takes. Have materials for maintaining makeup and hair on hand at all times.

As you can see, some of the most prestigious editors prioritize other elements, such as performance, over continuity.

While this may be the case, it is important to note that no editors are saying to push continuity editing to the wayside, but rather understand that it is one element of the editors job among many other things. So what are the reasons editors would abandon continuity in film for discontinuity editing?

Why would an editor break for continuity editing and opt for discontinuity editing? To answer that we must recap. What is continuity editing in film used for? It is primarily used to maintain logic, structure, and to ground audiences into the reality of a film. Discontinuity editing, therefore, fractures logic and structure. Why would an editor want to do this?

To better tell the story of the film. This is often the case in indie films, psychological thrillers, non-linear films, and experimental films. In fact, in early Soviet Montage Theory , discontinuity editing was highly-valued and utilized to construct more expressive and political films. Editors of these films may need to disorient or disturb the audience to effectively tell the story. Take a look at how Stanley Kubrick completely breaks the degree rule in this scene from The Shining.

Kubrick matches the oddity of the dialogue with the decision to break the degree rule. This is a perfect example of how breaking the rules of continuity in film can actually help the story of a film. The fundamental techniques of continuity editing are extremely important for every filmmaker and editor to understand.

Whether you plan on abiding by the rules or break them, understanding why and how they work will help you make editing decisions based on what will serve your story.

The fundamental techniques of continuity editing are a great start for any aspiring editor. To elevate your skills and storytelling as an editor, it is important to also learn from the best in the business.

Create robust and customizable shot lists. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows. Previous Post. Next Post. A visual medium requires visual methods. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment.

So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Skip to content. Techniques of continuity editing in film Eye line Eye trace degree rule Matching action. Continuity in film techniques Eyeline The eyeline match is one of the most fundamental tools in continuity editing.

What is continuity in film? Techniques for continuity in film 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. 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 explained. We break down the eye trace technique in our video lesson below.