2. Continuity
‘the organization of a film or television programme to make it seem
that the action happens without pauses or interruptions’.
Continuity can be used in media to make a piece of footage look
more professional and it also makes it clearer to the audience
what’s actually happening.
There are three main aspects of continuity: 180 degree rule, match
on action and shot reverse shot.
3. 180 degree rule
180º rule is a basic guideline used in media to show the relationship between two
characters on screen. If the camera moves over the guideline, it breaks the continuity of
the scene.
4. 180 degree rule from our Prelim
We used the 180
degree rule in our
prelim to show the two
characters having a
conversation.
By not crossing over the
180 degree line, it
made it clearer to the
audience what was
happening and also did
not break the continuity
of the scene.
If you cross over the 180
degree line, it can often
make the audience
confused as to what’s
happening.
From now on, the
audience would
expect the character
on the left to be on the
left and vice-versa, if it
suddenly flipped sides,
it would break the
continuity.
5. 180 degree rule from different films
We researched different films that
included the 180 degree but in the end
we decided not to include it into our
opening sequence.
6. Match on action
Match on action is a technique used in film editing. It is a cut that connects views of the
same action at the same time in the movement.
By matching the action across two shots, it makes the motion look like it continues
uninterrupted. The action should begin in the first shot and end in the second shot.
For example, walking through a door. You would see the character from behind walking
through the door, and then the camera cuts to the other side of the door and you see the
character walking through (at the same time) from a front view.
7. Match on action from our prelim
We used match
on action in our
prelim to show
the character
walking through
a door.
This technique
made the
audience
continue to
know exactly
what was
happening.
We could have
made it an even
clearer shot by
showing the
character directly
from behind
walking through
the door, camera
angle changing
to a front view
and then seeing
the same action
happening from
the front.
8. Match on action from our opening sequence
The main character walking
down the stairs started off
from her point of view and
then switched to a different
angle.
It gave the audience a better
view as to the location the
character was entering
9. Shot reverse shot
Shot reverse shot is where a character is shown looking back at another character, then
the other character is shown “looking back” at the first character. The characters are
shown facing in opposite directions, meaning the person watching automatically assumes
the two characters are looking at each other.
10. Shot reverse shot from our prelim
By keeping the camera in
the same position
throughout the whole
conversation, there were
no movements or jolts, so
the scene kept the
continuity
The low angle shot of the
character for this shot was
used to show the
dominance they had over
the conversation
compared to the other
character
Shot reverse shot used in
our prelim made it clear to
the audience who was
having the conversation
and was made to look like
the two characters were
looking back at each
other
11. Shot reverse shot from our opening sequence
We started with the main
character getting her photo taken
in a photography studio
When the view changes, you see
a woman taking a photo and the
audience automatically assume
she is taking a photo of the other
character
In the third part of shot reverse
shot, it switches to a black and
white scene of the first character
being attacked. The audience
start to question what’s happening
and whether it’s
present/past/future tense?
The shot reverse shot in our opening sequence had more continuity
than our shot reverse shot in our prelim because we’d had more
practise and longer to perfect it.
12. Improvements with cinematography,
shots, angles, movements
I think I have improved in terms of movements because I’ve learnt the importance of continuity
within this and how important they are in making sure the audience always knows what is
happening in every scene. Originally in our prelim, a character was shown on one side of the
180 degree line, we then had a close up of their face, from a different side, breaking the
continuity of the technique.
You must always keep the camera in the same place when filming some scenes as a sudden
jump or jolt causes confusion.
By using low/high angle shots of characters I know how I can use these to show dominance of
characters and power over situations.
In our opening sequence we could use a high angle shot to show point of view of the character
to give an idea to the audience about what was going on.
13. Improvements from prelim and opening
sequence
In our prelim
we used a low
angle shot to
show the
dominance of
the character
in the scene.
However, after
this, the
camera work
jumps to a
closer long
angle shot, but
does not
continually
flow together.
The high angle shot
from our opening
sequence shows the
audience the props the
character is using but
not specifically what
they are writing,
emphasising the
enigma
The eye level
shot was used
to emphasise
to the
audience what
the character
was doing.
The way you
see the strip of
negatives fall
onto the
camera lense,
it gives hints of
a photography
theme.
14. Editing
We never used a lot of editing in our prelim because it was our first ‘real’ sequence we
made, and we mostly stuck to the continuity principles.
However, we did have to cut pieces of footage to make the different pieces run
together more smoothly. In our prelim though, they weren’t as smooth as we weren’t
as used to cutting and moving videos on the timeline on Final Cut Express.
In our final sequence, we used different video effects and edited music to add to it.
For the scene of the character getting attacked/strangled, we decided to use a
black and white effect as it emphasised a different time bracket and the mystery of
the situation.
I think our editing has improved because of the amount of footage that was actually
needed to edit. We began getting used to using Final Cut Express and making cuts
smoother, and we were able to improve the continuity of our final sequence.
15. Prelim and opening sequence
Applying video
filters into our final
piece to add to
the mystery
The black and
white filter tries to
emphasise that
it’s not present
time
In our prelim, there
was no smooth
transitions from the
frame on the left to
the right, meaning the
continuity was broken
slightly
Since our prelim,
we’ve had more
practise at making
the cuts smoother,
and making sure they
run together properly.
16. Mise en scene
For our prelim, we didn’t focus much on the mise en scene of the footage as we didn’t
really spend a lot of time discussing appropriate locations, or think about the
backgrounds of what would be seen on camera. We also didn’t have specific
costumes or props as we were supposed to just be students.
However in our final piece, we were very careful on the choice of location as we
wanted to emphasise that it was set in an isolated setting (as it’s a studio). We chose
specific props for the main character to give hints about the storyline. For example, the
negatives strips and scissors, with the water pots and photos, showing that the main
themes must include photography.
17. Prelim and opening sequence
Our final piece had
props to portray
photography theme.
scissors
Water pots
for photos
location fits task as
were students
photograph
School posters around
the room
Even though our
opening scene was at
school, we were
careful not to get any
aspects of the school
in the mise en scene.
18. Title
We decided on the title Negatives as we
thought it best fit the theme of
photography.
We had some practise on Final Cut Express
to figure out what fonts, colours and size of
text we wanted.
In the end, we decided on a typewriter
effect on the text as we thought that
would relate quite well to the theme of
photography and the mystery aspect.
At first, we made the letters of the word
‘negatives’ come up in a random order
but then decided to make them appear in
chronological order because it looked
more professional.
19. Examples from real media and opening sequence
Our title to our
opening was
based on the
title of se7en in
the way it was
presented
We used a black
background with
white font as we
thought it would
be bolder and
make a statement.
Even
though the
font was
quite basic,
we thought
it would be
more
effective
The title ‘se7en’ is clearly
going to have
something to with the
number 7 but negatives
gives off a range of
different ideas of what
the film could be about,
contributing to the
enigma aspect
20. Conclusions
Over the process of making an opening sequence, I have learnt the importance of
continuity and how it can make a huge impact to a piece of footage. I’ve learnt
about the continuity principles: 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse
shot and how they can influence the professionalism of a piece of work.
From practise in the Prelim task, I’ve been able to improve my skills with the camera,
use different angles/shots and improve Final Cut Express skills. I’ve come to grips with
using the macs and the programmes that come with it. For example, garage band, to
create and edit a piece of music that fits the genre and opening sequence that we
are creating.
I’ve improved a lot on using Final Cut Express as it’s become easier, finding my way
around the programme, being able to add things to the timeline, edit footage to
make it smaller, add transitions, filters, sounds etc. to help make our opening
sequence fit the thriller genre as much as possible.
21. Conclusions
I’ve learnt that the first idea you have, isn’t always going to be the best. For example,
when we first started filming our first plan of an opening sequence, we decided that
it didn’t fit the thriller genre very well. We then had to rethink our ideas and as a
group come up with an alternative idea.
Through practise, I’ve also learnt the importance of mise en scene. You have to
make sure that everything you want in the shot is in the shot and any extras are cut
out. For example, in some shots, you could see the carpet or tables in the
background, but we didn’t want it to look as though we’d filmed at school- it was
supposed to be in a photography studio so therefore had to shoot that part again.
I’ve improved quite a lot since the start as I’ve learnt a lot more about continuity. I
can now produce a video that runs smoothly together without confusion from the
audience.
