Editing Techniques

Continuity editingThe purpose of continuity editing is to make it look like the next shot has been filmed at the same time.

At the end of this shot the character is coming out of a lift and we can see the lift is half way open

At the beginning of this shot we can see the character is in the same position as she was at the end of the last shot which makes it look like it was filmed at the same time

Shot 2

Shot 1

180 degree rule

Shot 1

Shot 2

The purpose of 180 degree rule is to get all your shots on the same side of the scene otherwise the scene can look confusing.

In this shot we can see that the camera has been placed in the back of the lift facing the door

In this next shot we can see that the camera has only moved about 45 degrees and as it is in the same 180 degrees as the last shot it follows the 180 degree rule

Shot reverse shotShot 1

Shot 2

Shot reverse shot is normally used in conversation scenes to show the audience who the person is talking to or looking at

In this first shot we can see an over the shoulder shot of one character looking at another character

In this next shot we can see the character looking back at the character which shows that they are looking at each other probably in a conversation

Eye line edit

The purpose of an eye line edit is to show a character looking at an object or a person off screen and then in the next shot you show what that character was looking at.

In the first shot we can see a character looking up at something outside of the shot

In the second shot we can see what the character was looking up at