Getting continuity shots right is at the core of shooting a seamless sequence which will edit together well. The three principles of geography, crossing the line and direction of movement are the cornerstones of what makes it all work.

This takes a lot of effort and co-ordination as well as preparation. The idea is to set the scene with cutaways and close-ups, and lots of extra footage. While shooting like this, keep consistent shot sizes, heights and looking room in order for them to be spliced and edited effectively. This collects a lot of usable footage for the geography element of continuity.

Overlap the action by asking any subjects to repeat movements or action while you film using different angles and shot sizes. Allow them to enter and exit the frame by filming an empty scene before and after they arrive and depart. Running the camera for a few seconds after each shot is also a good way of getting continuity material. Getting the direction of movement right is fairly straightforward when shooting something predictable, but what about changes of direction? Many subjects can be flipped during editing, meaning the film can be reverse, so if something was entering frame from the left, but then reverses direction and exits left and keeps going, you can bear in mind the footage isn’t useless, you can flip the shots to make them all seem sequential. Using an object or presenter to move in the newly changes direction is also a good way of illustrating to the audience that something has changed.

Crossing the line is a bit more difficult. Say you have an interview between two people and you want to preserve the setting in order to not confuse the audience. Get the two subjects to look at each other and imagine a line between the eyes. That’s “the line”. Not crossing that line ensures you can get an angle on one subject, and the reverse angle on the other without messing with the surroundings and confuse the audience. Watch an interview and see how the perspective between the two subjects change, but not the geography of the shot. It’s a subtle technique but important to get right in those kinds of situations.

You can cross the line in other situations as it can draw the audience in with you. It isn’t suitable for the head to head interview, but filming outside with animals for example is a time when it could work. Like in the example of changes of direction, you can use a subject or presenter to illustrate the change of surroundings by moving their head in the new direction or angle. They can also indicate, which warns the audience that things have changed. Crossing the line here won’t confuse either the shot or the viewer.

The audience never sees continuity. When done well, the feature seems like a seamless, sequential piece. A lot of work when filming and when editing enables you to produce that effect.