Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. To do this, an editor will transition between shots of one character, who is usually shown looking at an off-screen character, and shots of the off-screen character (now on screen) looking back at them. An example would be someone reaching for a doorknob in one shot, and in the next shot, the door opensĪgain, this editing technique helps orient the viewer by informing them where each character is located. Perhaps one of the most famous ones is the graphic match cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey in which the bone turns into a space ship, but m atch on action cuts, which are simply two shots cut together to depict one continuous action, is perhaps the most ubiquitous. There are many different types of match cuts, from the graphic match to match on action. We should examine all of them to understand what makes up this kind of editing and what makes it so formative.Ī match cut is a cut from one shot to another, often used as a transition, where the composition of the two shots are matched by the action or subject and subject matter. These can be establishing shots where we then cut into the location, as well as shot-reverse-shots that let viewers know where each character is located within the scene.Ĭontinuity is a general term that applies to lots of basic techniques. In cinema and television, it is how the editor cuts a scene to tell you what's going on. Have you ever been inside a scene and wondered which character is standing where? Like, how close is the lightsaber to Luke Skywalker as he's hanging in the cage or where does Danny Ocean need to climb when he goes up into the rafters of the casino?Ī spatial relation specifies where an object is located in space in relation to a reference object. It should feel seamless and allow an editor or director to keep the audience's attention. This kind of editing needs to be invisible. That was wordy, but the general idea is that we ground the viewer in time and space. And not like the stories you'd see at a play, but stories you'd see if you were able to jump on stage and watch the play from different vantage points.and beyond.Īnd that leads us to perhaps cinema's most consequential development, other than maybe the introduction of sound (which occurred about a decade later): the advent of continuity editing.Ĭontinuity editing is the process in film and video creation where you combine related shots, or different components of a single shot, into a sequence which directs the audience's attention to the consistency of story across time and location. Short, uninterrupted clips of trains arriving in stations and workers leaving factories in time became.stories. This "Golden Age" saw filmmakers pushing the medium past its limitations in form, function, and philosophy. It All Starts with "Classical Hollywood Style"Ĭinema became a full-fledged creative vehicle by the end of WWI. We will also go over many editing techniques in cinema to make sure you understand how they come together to make up the generalized term of "continuity editing." In actuality, it's the most important pillar of filmmaking!Įditor Walter Murch once said, “The invention of editing is the thing that allowed film to take off.” So I want to spend today going into continuity editing, adding the definition, examples, and talking about why we should be talking about it in the first place. It's one of those things you know exists, but cannot quite define. The epitome of that reality is continuity editing. Some of the very foundations of cinema and television have become so ingrained into our sense as viewers that they go unrecognized. We're getting so used to watching film and television that we rarely notice the very basic techniques used day in and out.
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