Continuity Editing

Filmmakers and editors may work with various goals in mind.  Traditionally, commercial cinema prefers the continuity system, or the creation of a logical, continuous narrative which allows the viewer to suspend disbelief easily and comfortably.  Continuity Editing is the process of creating a smooth and seamless narrative experience for the audience- it can be useful to think of it as invisible editing.

Continuity editing is the predominant style of film editing and video editing in the post-production process of filmmaking of narrative films and television programs. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots.

Continuity editing is the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence so as to direct the viewer's attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across both time and physical location. Often used in feature films, continuity editing, or "cutting to continuity", can be contrasted with approaches such as montage, in which the editor aims to generate, in the mind of the viewer, new associations among the various shots which can then be of entirely different subjects, or at least of subjects less closely related than would be required for the continuity approach.

Terms Associated with Continuity Editing

Eyeline Match

An eyeline match is a film editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that an audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. An eyeline match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut of another object or person: for example, a shot showing a man looking off-screen is followed by a shot of a television. Given the audience's initial interest in the man's gaze, it is generally inferred on the basis of the second shot that the man in the first was looking at the television, even though the man is never seen looking at the television within the same shot.

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, for example, makes frequent use of eyeline matches. The main character, played by James Stewart, is confined to his apartment and often looks out its rear window at events in the buildings across from him. Hitchcock frequently cuts from Stewart looking off-screen to various people and events that are assumed to be the focus of his gaze.

Eyeline match also refers to the practice of setting off-camera eyelines for single shots of characters within a scene such that, when these shots are cut together, each of the characters appear to be looking at the correct character, without any confusion. Factors influencing the position of the off-camera eyeline (usually by placing the other actors off camera but sometimes by giving the on-camera actor a mark to look at) include the 180 degree rule, camera lens/height/distance to subject and geography of the set. For instance, matching close-ups of two actors in a scene would be shot on the same lens with the camera placed at a matching height (either the same height, or at the off-camera actor's height or the on-camera actor's height) and distance, with the off-camera actor positioned equidistant from the lens and on opposite sides so that Actor A looks off camera right and Actor B looks off camera left.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyeline_match

Match on Action

In order for this series of shots to make sense, the director must manipulate the camera as if the film reality he/she is creating exists when not in view of the camera. This means, for example, that if a character happens to walk off screen in one shot, he must walk onto another screen in another shot. All this says to the audience is that when one shot ends another will pick up where the other left off making the reality of the film fluid and continuous.

Establishing Shot

This is a basic shot that is used a lot. This shot is usually wide angled showing the setting in which a scene is taking place. It helps the audience maintain a sense of where the action of the film is taking place and places a smaller part of the film as a whole inside of a specific place.

POV (Point of View) Shot

This shot can be associated with the eyeline match but is a little different. This shot tries to place the camera as a character, making the audience have physical mass inside of the film reality. For example, in this scene from The Birth of a Nation we see the stage and the balcony of the theater from the point of view of a normal audience member, this being in one of the seats facing the same way as the rest of the crowd is facing. In this way, the director can place the audience into a scene so they feel more connected to the action.

Axis of Action

This rule is somewhat complicated but makes sense if you know what you are looking for. On the contrary you probably think this is the simplest logical thing to do when filming a conversation but it is actually a filming style itself. Take for example two people facing each other having a conversation. The scene cuts between each of these characters seeing both halves of the conversation between two separate shots with only the single actor in each frame. You want one actor facing left on the screen and one actor facing right. This creates the illusion that they are looking at each other and not simply off the screen. If both characters are facing left then they look as if they are facing the same direction, not each other, and therefore would make for an odd looking conversation.

Diegetic Sound- Used to Assist Continuity Editing

Diegetic sound is often associated with continuity editing. Diegetic sound can assist a film’s flow and allow the continuity of a scene to remain stable- which is a goal of continuity editing. Diegetic sound is sound that is actually created within the world of the film (2). When edits are being made and cuts are seen in a particular scene in a film which included diegetic sound, the uninterrupted continuation of the diegetic sound helps the viewer piece together the events taking place before them. If the song or sound you are hearing is played straight through with no jumps or pauses, while the action taking place is seen through a series of shots, it makes logical sense that the action occurring takes place together with no breaks in time (2).

Source: http://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610182/Continuity%C2%A0Editing