Term Definitions

Term Definitions

Match on Action:

Match on Action is a continuity editing technique which can be used to portray a false sense of continuity to the viewer. As an example, it can feature a person opening a door in 3 shots: First, a wide shot showing the person walk towards the door, then a close up of their hand on the doorknob, then a final shot showing them walk through the other side. These shots are then edited togethor to make it look like a continuous motion and make the movement seem fluid and natural. This technique can be done using almost any action, like this scene from Star Wars.

Shot/reverse shot:

Shot reverse shot is also a continuity editing technique which can be used to portray a conversation between two people with the audience's attention constantly on one person at a time. It involves 2 camera angles, one over one characters shoulder and another over the other persons. These 2 shots will then be put togethor so that only one person's face is shown at once whilst it shows just the back of the other person's head.

180 degree rule:

The 180 degree rule is where you have a line of view and you are showing 2 characters in a scene. In this shot you have to keep the same side of the view line otherwise the audience's association with character and side of the screen with be broken along with 180 degree rule. It is another continuity technique which is used to keep the characters on their own side of the screen.