The Continuity System of Editing

The Continuity System of Editing

The continuity system is a set of rules which have evolved to help audiences understand the relationship of one shot to the next when editing.  Every edit has the potential to confuse the audience, so the rules of the continuity system help stop this confusion.

-180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is where the camera position in editing does not cross an imaginary line between characters and or  items to not confuse the audience. This rule can be broken as long as the scene is simple and usually with one character.
You can position the camera anywhere on one side of the character as long as it does not cross the '180 degree line' which will make the scene really confusing

-Shot / Reverse Shot
Shot reverse shot is usually used within conversation between two characters. Usually an over the shoulder shot is used between the two characters which shows that they are talking. If this rule is used correctly you don't even need audio to show the audience that they characters are interacting with one another.
This rule and the 180 degree rule go well together because if you cross the line during a conversation the places of the characters will switch and confuse the audience.


-Establishing Shot / Reestablishing Shots

The establishing shot can be anywhere in a scene as long as it shows the audience where the scene is taking place. For example two characters may have a evil plan and they are discussing it in a dark room, after the conversation the camera leaves the room through the window and pans out across the city showing the audience where the scene is taking place, the camera then stops at a bank yet again showing the audience that the evil plan may be associated with the bank giving the audience a sense of genre that the movie may be.
In the Marvel's The Avengers this scene establishes where the battle is and who is in the battle, the camera goes from one avenger to another whilst showing the destruction of New York City.

-Eye line Match Cut
The eye line match shot allows the audience to see what the character is looking at. For example a person is sitting down on a stool and looks at a set of keys, the camera then cuts to look at the pair of keys and then cuts back to the character. This would be the eye line match shot.

-Match Cut On Action
A match on action shot is a cut in between a single action, for example, a character is lying on bed with the covers to the left of him, the shot is from an aerial view which shows the whole bed, the character then swings left and grabs the covers, then the camera is cut to the right side of the bed where the character swings over and covers himself to then close his eyes and fall asleep.