When watching a film or television show, have you ever noticed a change in surroundings between shots? Such as maybe a water bottle moving on a table from one shot to another. Or perhaps a character who is extremely wet in one shot and then dried off in the next.

These are examples of continuity issues that can occur as multiple takes are filmed. While common, continuity errors are distracting when noticed. This means it is best to maintain continuity, not only while you are filming but also in post-production.  

READING & WRITING

The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film & Video

Chapter 3 Basic Sequence

The idea behind a basic sequence is to break up a long scene into several shorter scenes. This is because it makes the sequence more interesting for the viewer: it is easier to look at six different images within 30 seconds and take in all the details than to stare at one single image for 30 seconds. Sequences also allow, when editing, the length of certain shots to be varied to emphasize important parts of the story.

When recording a basic sequence, the most important thing to remember is that each new shot should involve a change in image size and camera angle. Hence, it is easy for the viewer to identify it as a new sequence. Not only does this make it more interesting to the viewer, but the forced change in perspective also helps hide any continuity errors between shots.

A technique in editing together sequences that can also help hide continuity errors is cutting on the action. Cutting on the action refers to when movement occurs in one shot and then ends in the next, causing the viewer’s eyes to follow the action right across the cut. This is because the viewer’s eye will naturally follow movement across the screen. An important thing to remember about cutting-on-action is that the last action of the first shot must be repeated at the beginning of the shot. This means that you must shoot the exact moment twice; this is also called overlapping action.

Chapter 4 Screen Direction

Screen Direction refers to the direction that people and different subjects face when viewed through the camera. On the other hand, reverse screen direction is when the screen direction viewed on the camera is reversed from what is physically there. This is caused by the camera person crossing the line.

The line, also called the axis of action or the axis, is an imaginary line that determines the direction people and objects face when viewed through a camera. When you cross this line, you get the screen direction reversed.

If a camera stays on the front side of the line, the subjects will remain facing the intended direction. Despite this, some circumstances may call for the line to be crossed, such as when a subject blocks a critical detail, you have no control over the subject, or the sequence will look better on the other side of the line.

The line can be crossed without confusion by having the subject change direction on-screen. You can also cross the line in a single continuous camera movement; this is ideal for moving subjects, such as a racecar. It is also possible to cross the line by using a neutral shot with no screen direction, as a bridge. Similarly, a clear point of reference can help viewers orient themselves, like going from a wide shot to a medium shot of a sidewalk or road. Cut-on action can also be used to cover crossing the line, as the continuity of the action across the cut will psychologically mask the reversal in screen direction.

Schroeppel, T. (2015). Chapter 3: Basic Sequences. In The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video (3rd ed., pp. 47-60). essay, Allworth Press.

Schroeppel, T. (2015). Chapter 4: Screen Direction. In The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video (3rd ed., pp. 61-72). essay, Allworth Press.

RESEARCH TO INFORM

This is a scene from the movie of the musical Chicago, in which the characters perform the song “They Both Reached for the Gun.” The film cuts between two versions of the same scene: one based on what is happening, and another, a metaphorical version, of how one of the main characters, Billy Flynn, is controlling everything. In some shots, we see reality with Billy and the other main character, Roxie, talking to the press. Then it cuts to a stage scene with Billy and Roxie, where Roxie is acting like a ventriloquist’s puppet, with Billy controlling what she says to the press to help paint a specific narrative of her crime. The reporters are all shown as the audience when Billy and Roxie are onstage. While they aren’t shown together on-screen, this would cross the line. Instead, we see Billy and Roxie on stage, and then, in a different shot, the reporters sitting like an audience for a theater show. From this, we can assume that the reporters are their audience. Eventually, as the reporters begin to agree with Roxie and Billy’s account of events, they are shown moving like marionette puppets. If what is happening is not entirely clear, Billy is shown above to be literally pulling the reporter’s strings.

This is a chase scene from the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows. It is a mockumentary that follows the lives of four vampire roommates, Vladislav the Poker, Viago, Deacon, and Petyr, living in New Zealand. In this scene, we see a human Nick being chased by vampires who want to feed on him.  Since he is a moving subject, the camera follows Nick while still allowing him to move in front of the camera, so the line is never crossed. It is all continuous camera movement, since it is filmed in a documentary style. They focus on certain shocking things Nick comes across as he runs, or the camera even blurs on the wall to create a bridge between sequences. This allows Nick to keep moving off camera and get to a good place in frame without breaking continuity. Since he is in a dire situation, running for his life from vampires, it is a safe bet for the viewer to assume that Nick keeps running even when not on camera. That is, until Petyr gets him.

This is a scene from the Barbie movie, in which Barbie sits on a park bench and at first tries to focus on the girl she is connected to in the real world. We see Barbie close her eyes before the flashes of the girl’s life, so, as the viewer, we can assume that what we are thinking is what Barbie is seeing in her mind. Once she opens her eyes, we then get to see all the different things she is observing as she looks around. Even if we forget what connects all these things, it still cuts back to Barbie reacting to what she sees, so we are reminded. Even though the shots from Barbie to what she sees are technically on opposite sides of the line, we can see Barbie facing in the direction she is looking. When Barbie looks at the old lady beside her, we see her turn her head too.

This is yet another animated short from the YouTuber Worthikids, which shows the late-night convenience store run of Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13^th movie series, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and a few other horror movie characters. In the first scene, the convenience store is shown in a wide shot to capture its entirety. Then it cuts to close-up shots of the characters entering the store and to Jason’s conversation with the cash register worker. Every shot after shows the character interacting with some aspect of a convenience store, from Freddy perusing the booze (much to Jason’s chagrin) to the kids running around the sunglasses display and trying them on. This animation is honestly a great example of consistency across the many different angles shown, especially for an animation.

This is a compilation of all the continuity errors found in the Disney show Gravity Falls. As mentioned in the video, the show’s animators must work through many frames, so some mistakes are bound to happen. In this video, many different types of errors made throughout the series are pointed out, including duplicate background characters and elements, missing mouths and eyes, and other issues that may occur during animation of multiple frames. Despite the errors listed in this video, Gravity Falls has maintained continuity across episodes and shorts.

Since I have included a list of all of Gravity Falls’ mistakes, I have decided to include something where Gravity Falls also exhibits continuity well. This is a short from a series called “Mabel’s Guide to” featuring the character, Mabel. Even though this is a cartoon, each short is animated as though Mabel was recording these on a video camera for the internet. Meaning that the line is more purposeful in that Mabel is constantly talking to an audience. When her brother Dipper comes in, you first see his hand appearing from the side, as if he is holding the camera. In the next scene, when he is shown on camera, you don’t wonder where he came from because you saw his hand before. The close-up of the cartoons is then used as a bridge to the next scene, where Grunkle Stan comes on. You know it is an entirely new scene, but it’s still connected, since Mabel is still around to show him her art. After that, a simple static scene is used to bridge the short’s different scenes.

CREATE

For my How-To video, I wanted to do a “how to draw” video because I used to really enjoy watching these types of videos as a kid. Initially, I was thinking of doing something that showed how to use Clip Studio Paint’s 3D elements to help someone learn anatomy. However, I was concerned about my ability to replicate the same drawing multiple times over completely.

 If I had various cameras to record myself drawing the same character at different angles, this would not be an issue. However, since I only have one camera, I need to teach the viewer to draw something that I can redraw multiple times without much variation between the drawings. Because of this, I decided to teach my viewers how to draw one of my favorite creatures on the planet: a dog.

I decided to stick with the digital format for my own drawing examples, but I mention how these same techniques can still be used with traditional drawing. I am using my Huion graphics display tablet because it will make it easier not only to do multiple drawings but also to create multiple variations with layers and ensure they are consistent. I also still plan to use Clip Studio Paint because it is my preferred drawing program for illustrating. For narration, I decided to use a tone that is direct but silly, almost robotic, with little inflection. I always feel awkward narrating, so I decided to lean into it.

An issue I ran into while filming was inconsistent dog drawings from one take to the next. I did my best to match the dogs up, but it was challenging to do it freehand on separate canvases. The dogs would look similar, but there was too much variation between them to convince a viewer that they are the same drawing from different angles. As a solution, I made a very light guide layer to help me draw the dog consistently on each take. I set the guide layer to 2% opacity to make it light enough that the camera wouldn’t pick it up, but I could still see it as I drew. This way, from the camera’s perspective, it looks like I am creating the same drawing from every angle.

Another issue I ran into was that, while editing the video, I had to re-record my narration because I realized it didn’t match what I’d recorded. Rather than reshooting every scene to match the script, I decided to adapt the script to match the footage. I had tried to keep a specific order while filming, but I ended up switching it up as I did it. In the script, I originally wrote the instructions to draw the dog’s body before the face, but when I was drawing the dog for the film, I finished the face first. While I did consistently do this for each angle I shot, it’s not what I said in the original narrative. A different solution I considered was rearranging the clips as the script says, but this would break continuity. Since the face is drawn before the body, having the face suddenly appear there before going back to narrate to draw the face would not make any sense.

While I did take steps to simplify this as much as possible for myself, this project was still challenging because I had to problem-solve along the way. Things that were more difficult in the past, such as narration, are no longer as daunting. Other challenges, like maintaining continuity, will continue to get easier, too. In the end, I feel as though I did make a successful How-To video.