Coursework Brief

We are required to have a Continuity task involving filming and editing a character, opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. With whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate a match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Match on action is when one cut is shot and edited to be shown from two different angles. For example, someone entering a room can be shot from a front and behind angle; whilst the shots may come after another in a movie scenario. The audience will be portrayed that the two cuts of one subject are happening at precisely the same moment. 

Shot/reverse shot is when a scene shows a series of opposing views, so that the audience sees action from both sides. The most common of these is Over the Shoulder and Over the Shoulder Reverse.

The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states, those two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects the subjects need to be in reverse position to maintain continuity.