Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing is a style of editing. It ensures that editing follows and continues from one shot to the other. For example a shot of two people conversing and then a shot of a spaceship, this is not continuity editing as the two shots do not follow each other. The purpose is to smooth over discontinuity of the editing process and establish a logical process between two shots.

Continuity Editing is important because it allows the shots to be logical and easy to process and understand for the viewers. It is important because it also allows the editing to flow with the illusion that the action is continuous.

An example: 


Eyeline Match

Eyeline match is when we see a character looking at someone off screen and then we cut a shot of what they are looking at. It is based on premise that the audience will want to see what the character in-screen is seeing. It is associated with the continuity editing system.  



Match on Action

Match on Action is an editing technique used for continuity editing, in which one shot cuts to another. We see the characters start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next.




Shot/reverse shot

Shot reverse shot (or shot /countershot) is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Additionally, the video shows high angle and low angle shots as the woman looks up at the man she is speaking to. 





180 Degree Rule

The 180 Degree Rule a basic guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. Some styles uses with the 180-degree rule can elicit an emotion or create a visual rhythm. By moving the camera closer to the axis for a close-up shot, it can intensify a scene when paired with a long shot.



Graphic Match

The graphic match is when two shots are linked with a similar shape or composition of an image. e.g the shower scene in Psycho.