Continuity editing refers to techniques used to create a sense of spatial and temporal coherence in films. There are two main categories - temporal continuity, which maintains a logical flow of time, and spatial continuity, which provides a clear physical narrative space. Specific techniques like match cuts, establishing shots, and eye line matches help preserve continuity and prevent disorienting the viewer. Ellipses, fades, and flashbacks can be used to convey temporal discontinuities like the passage of time.

1. Continuity editing
Finn Hird

2. Definition
• Continuity editing gives the viewer the
impression that the action unfolds with
spatiotemporal consistency. In most films,
logical coherence is achieved by cutting to
continuity, which emphasizes smooth
transition of time and space.
• IT is good to think of it as invisible editing.

3. Continuity editing
• continuity editing can be divided into two
categories: temporal continuity and spatial
continuity. In other words, techniques can
cause a passage to be continuous, giving the
viewer a concrete physical narration to follow,
or discontinuous, causing viewer
disorientation, pondering, or even subliminal
interpretation or reaction, as in the montage
style..

4. An ellipsis
• An ellipsis is an aberrant gap in the natural
time continuity of the story. The method used
to use a ellipse is to use the action scene in
the story to keep continuity. In film which
require day, months or year it would be
necessary to use an ellipse to ensure
continuity.

5. Diegetic sound
• Diegetic sound is sound that come directly
from the story this mean the character within
the film can hear along with the audience.
Continuous diegetic sound helps to smooth
temporally questionable cuts by overlapping
the shots.

6. Match on action
• Match on action technique can preserve
temporal continuity where there is a uniform,
unrepeated physical motion or change within
a passage. A match on action is when some
action occurring before the temporally
questionable cut is picked up where the cut
left it by the shot immediately following.

7. Temporal discontinuity
• Temporal discontinuity can be expressed by the
deliberate use of ellipses. Cutting techniques
useful in showing the nature of the specific
ellipses are the dissolve and the fade.
• A fade is a gradual transformation of an image to
or back from black, this is a form or temporal
discontinuity use to switch scene.
• The flashback is a relocation of time within a
story, this is a similar to a fade but changes the
storyline also.

8. Montage
• The montage technique is one that implies no
real temporal continuity whatsoever. This is a
collection of relevant clips or image montaged
together to give no real perception of time
within the story.

9. Match Cuts or Cutting on Action
• Cut shot are used to give seamless shots,
usually it cut when changing camera shot such
as moving form a wide angle to a close up.
Audience eye is attracted to

10. Establishing shots
• The establishing shot is one that provides a
view of all the space in which the action is
occurring. The main aspect and goal of this
shot is how the audience is unable to get
disoriented. This can be used as a re-
establishing shot, as a the audience may have
become disoriented with previous cut or fade
within the story.

11. 180 degree rule
The rule prevents the camera from crossing the
imaginary line connecting the subjects of the
shot.

12. 30 degree rule
30 degree rule mean the
camera can move within the 30
degree limit of the shot, shown
in the image. Filmmaker will
use any angle up to 10 degrees.

13. Eye line match
• Eye line refers tot e path of the camera
following the eye line, this is similar to the
reverse shot.

14. Shot reverse
• 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.

15. Cross Cutting
• Cross-cutting is an editing technique most
often used in films to establish action
occurring at the same time in two different
locations. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut
away from one action to another action. In
some cases the action is linked in some way,
however the action could be relevant but have
a different ending which confuses the
audience, such as ‘silence of the lambs’.

16. Slow Cutting/Fast Cutting
• The difference between fast and slow cut
editing, is the use of camera angle to portray
the scene going quickly and more in tense
compared to a scene with one shot which
indicates a slower scene, these are used to
give a better perception of time.

17. Jump Cuts
• Jump cut are a motion within film which cut
from one scene to other quickly, still keeping
in continuity. This is a good method to keep
the film rolling but to speed it up. This is
agood technique in a fast rolling action film.

18. Slow motion
• Slow motion can be used to give external
information which couldn’t be picked up buy
the audience without the film techniques of
slow motion. It can also portray the character
as being intelligent and more advanced then
other people.