Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 6.1. (previous page) A continuitysequence from High Noon.The geography is very clear andwell established. It is possible to bea bit looser about some of the rulesof continuity, and in fact the editordoes so a few times in this scene.SHOOTING FOR EDITINGFilming is ultimately shooting for editorial. The primary purposeof shooting is not merely to get some “great shots” — in the endit must serve the purpose of the film by giving the editor and thedirector what they need to actually piece together completed scenesand sequences that add up to a finished product that makes sense, hasemotional impact, and accomplishes its purpose.Thinking about ContinuityMovies get made one scene at a time, and scenes get made one shotat a time. No matter how large and complex a production is, you arealways still doing it one shot at a time. As you do each shot you haveto keep the overall purpose in mind: that this shot must fit in with allthe other shots that will make up the final scene.Continuity is a big issue in filmmaking. It’s something we have tobe aware of at all times. Continuity mistakes can easily render severalhours of shooting worthless or can create huge problems in editing.So what is continuity?Basically, continuity means a logical consistency of the story,dialog, and picture so that it presents the appearance of reality.Here’s a simple example: in a wide shot, he is not wearing a hat. Thenwe immediately cut to a close-up and he is wearing a hat. It appearsto the viewer as if a magic hat suddenly appeared on his head. Thiswould be a serious continuity error — the audience would surelynotice it. When the audience is aware of continuity errors, it makesthem aware they are watching a movie, it breaks the illusion.Types of continuityThere are several categories of continuity:Continuity Of ContentContinuity of content applies to anything visible in the scene: wardrobe,hairstyle, props, the actors, cars in the background, the time seton the clock. As discussed in the chapter Set Operations, it is the scriptsupervisor in conjunction with the various department heads whomust ensure that all of these items match from shot to shot.These kinds of problems extend from the very obvious — she waswearing a red hat in the master, but now it is a green hat in the closeup— to the very subtle — he was smoking a cigar that was almostfinished when he entered and now he has a cigar that is just started.While the script supervisor, on-set wardrobe, and prop master arethe first line of defense in these matters, it is still up to the directorand camera person to always be watchful for problems.As with almost anything in film there is a certain amount of cheatingthat is possible; the audience can be very accepting of minorglitches. Absolutely perfect continuity is never possible and there isa large gray area.Continuity of MovementAnything that is moving in a shot must have a movement in the nextshot that is a seamless continuation of what was begun. Whether itbe opening a door, picking up a book, or parking a car, the movementmust have no gaps from one shot to the next. This is where it isso critical to be aware of how the shots might be cut together.cinematography78