Continuity Editing – When Shots Don’t Match


What could be a frightful continuity error for a newbie editor, is a fresh challenge for a pro editor to solve – “Focus on the eyes!”


Continuity & Rhythm in Editing

But sometimes the editor is handed a set of shots  – long, medium, close, cutaways, cut-ins, etc. They are meant to be cut together ‘seamlessly’; the action is supposed to match where one shot cuts to another as a continuity cut.

Below is a continuity editing example in a dance number between Sean Astin and Emily Hampshire. The scene is covered with several shot sizes of identical action. When edited, the action appears continuous as the shots intercut.

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The most common mistakes have to do with continuity and rhythm, which both rely on the quality of the number of shots that cover a scene.


This article is a reformatted excerpt from “Scene Coverage” in Cyber Film School’s Multi-Touch Filmmaking Textbook


Solving Continuity Issues

During production, a few continuity details get missed while covering a scene – a cup in an actor’s left hand in one shot changes to her right hand in the next. The clothing does not match as we cut from one shot to the next.

Screen direction problems show up where an actor or camera has crossed the axis, so when the shots cut together actors suddenly face the wrong direction. See our article on maintaining Screen Direction issues here.

New editors often fret over these flubs, but what is a continuity error to a newbie is a challenge that seasoned pros look forward to solving. Their solution is to focus on performance and eye lines and performance

In the following example, we forced the cut without strict continuity on the action.  However, the eye line is consistent and we follow the flow of the story through the actors’ connection.

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Now replay the above and examine the woman’s hands. Notice that in each cut, they do not match the action.

Even when they embrace, we jump forward in time. We don’t notice the mismatched action because the editor draws us to the performance. We are caught up in the scene’s rhythm.

“Dede” Allen was one of cinema’s all-time celebrated ‘auteur’ film editors, and the very first editor to be awarded a single-card head credit as Editor, which is now commonplace. She’s known for The Hustler (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Reds (1982). She was also known as Hollywood’s ‘go-to’ film doctor to fix problems in major studio films.

To solve continuity issues between shots, Dede advises to ‘cut’ with the performance, with the eyes.

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Importance of Rhythm

Continuity in a film is not the only consideration when editing a scene. Although rhythm in editing is less about movie continuity, it is more related to continuity in terms of conveying ‘subtext’. Let’s explore subtext.

Picture this: an editor cuts a scene following the script exactly as written. His cuts are smooth and perfect. The director screens it, then yells to the editor, “You missed the whole point!” Much like cracking a good joke, telling a story is all in the timing or rhythm, which may not be evident on the script page.

The editor in this scenario mistook pauses in the performance as “dead space.” Editors must screen everything and know the story and director’s intent in order to spot the subtext and cut accordingly. The subtext is what the character thinks or believes. It’s often found in silent pauses, over which the editor has full control.

In the back-to-back clips below, spot the truth and the lie in this dialogue: One dialogue scene is cut two different ways – same setup, same script, same dialogue. The first cut sounds like a straight-up explanation. The second cut lets us read the behavior of the players and what they are saying to each other.

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<< BACK TO: Three Pitfalls of the Editor


Screen Continuity

If there’s one argument on the set with repeat-offender status, it’s often about screen direction – and not just for newbies. Seasoned pros even get into it.

By Stavros C. Stavrides


Screen Direction

Once screen direction is established, it must be maintained in each progressive shot. This also applies to the direction our performers move, face, or look at, even when they are not moving. 

When screen direction fails, actors can seem like they’re not facing each other in conversation, not looking at what they are supposed to be looking at, or instantly changing the direction of travel back to where they started. We could have one confused audience!

Now bear in mind, this is a rule. That means you may deliberately break it for the desired effect, such as in a montage. One filmmaker may break a rule knowingly to achieve an effect, another may stumble into it accidentally. Which would you rather be?

When Screen Continuity is misapplied, it can jar or confuse your audience, and really tee off your editor.  

Axis of Action, Imaginary Line, 180-Degree Rule

Here’s a quick primer video:

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So how do we keep track of screen direction while we’re managing the many aspects of a hectic production?

The Imaginary Line, or ‘Axis of Action’, or the ‘180-Degree Rule’ is the key tool used by filmmakers to maintain screen direction. It works like this:

As we look down on the two subjects in this diagram, we draw an imaginary line through them, in the direction they move or face.

Imaginary Line, or Axis for Continuity of Screen Direction

If all shots are done from one side of the axis (shots 1,2,3), they cut together with consistent screen direction.

In the following example, a teacher and student walk and talk, then sit at a bench. This rule guarantees both screen direction and matching eye lines.

A Working Example

Correct Screen Continuity movement

Shots 1, 2 & 3 are filmed from the same side of the imaginary line (the axis). Subjects move left to right in every shot. These shots cut together seamlessly, preserving a left-to-right walking direction.

Correct Screen Continuity Dialog

Shots 4, 5 & 6 at the bench also stick to one side of the imaginary line. When shots are cut together, the eye lines will match. The actors appear to face each other instead of away.

When It Works:

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When It Fails:

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Shot #2 above steps on the ‘wrong’ side of the line.

Imaginary line or axis crossed affects continuity

When #2 shot cuts with the others, the subjects appear to change direction.


This article is a brief drawn from the ‘Screen Continuity’ chapter of
Cyber Film School’s MultiTouch Textbook


Remember:

Your subject is free to travel cross-screen, toward or away from the camera – directional movement will also always be intact as long as the camera doesn’t cross the axis.

In the following excerpt from our Book page, the clip from Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991) examines some tricky continuity when actors look off-camera and follow movement in the frame. Again, the camera stays on one side of the line, but subjects and their eye lines may freely move.  Watch boy number two move his gaze in response to offscreen movement. Play this video a few times for a good study, and imagine how you would plan this coverage. 

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Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991)

Can We Ever Cross the Axis?

The rule says you cannot, but as with many rules, there are loopholes.  If we use one of the following techniques to avoid can avoid jarring the audience, we can smoothly cross the axis within the scene and resume coverage from the other side. Here are come ways to that:

Actor or Camera Crosses Axis

  • You can cross the axis if any of the actors are seen changing screen direction within a shot. We then resume the rest of your coverage from that new side.
  • Precede an axis change with a neutral shot. A neutral shot is one where the subject moves directly toward or away from the camera so that the sense of direction appears neutral – neither left nor right.

These techniques visually trick an audience, so we can use this lapse of screen direction to cross the axis and change screen direction on the next shot:

Here’s an example where an actor is neutral then changes direction in a shot:

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Neutral Shot shifts from neutral to directional

Insert a Cutaway Shot

Cut to a cutaway shot, such as a couple sitting on a bench, a bird, or a stream. In the example below, it’s a dog. We then change the axis in the following shot, and shoot the rest of the shots from that side. This may be the most clever way to hide the fact you’ve crossed axis by mistake.

Crossing of the axis by using a cutaway. Watch for it at the 20-second mark.

Alternatively, you can dolly or otherwise move the camera across the axis during the shot so the audience sees the move, then shoot the remaining shots on the new side of the axis. The camera actually crosses DURING the shot. 

Now that we’ve been through the basics, there’s a lot more about screen continuity to cover in later posts, such as dealing with a meandering or zigzag path, talking through and moving through doorways, among others. But for now, keep this info in your pocket for that inevitable day you find yourself in an argument on the set. Or better still, share it for that “I told you so” moment.  It could save everyone a whack of valuable production time – and headaches in the edit!