Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 1 Motion Picture Language 13

How do you know all of this? It is because you have developed a visual

understanding, a mode of communication that you understand. No one had

to tell you this verbally. Th ere probably was no voice-over telling you what was

happening (or at least this was not necessary). You understood this because

of your fl uency in motion picture language, and this demonstrates that you

comprehend such concepts as screen direction and the axis.

Establishing Continuity

It is from these juxtapositions of shots that we encounter one of the main

concepts of this unit: continuity editing. Continuity editing is a method of

editing that is designed to make cuts seem relatively invisible to the viewer.

As one shot cuts to the next shot in a sequence, the motion picture moves

forward in a continuous and clear way in relation to time and space, and the

cutting is not noticeable or jarring to the viewer. In order to make a smooth

cut between two shots, there needs to be a signifi cant change in angle between

camera and subject and oft en in framing, as well as proper treatment of issues

of time, action, and space. Actions and movements of characters and objects

progress smoothly from shot to shot using techniques such as match cuts.

With a match cut, there are visual elements that help to make the edit

smooth or feel invisible to the viewer. For example, there can be a matching

action between the two shots, in which a gesture or action begins in a fi rst

shot, then a cut is made and in the next shot, the action continues from the

exact point at which it ended in the fi rst, such as the opening of a door or the

throwing of a punch. Match cuts can also be made from similar actions or

forms of diff erent characters or objects, such as characters in a dance sequence

or the bone/spaceship match cut in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Remember that a key aspect of match cuts on action is created during

fi lming when there is a change in position for the camera. Th e framing

Figure 1-20 Match cut on action: the camera cuts from outside to inside as the door is opened.

(Courtesy of Carl Casinghino).

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