Filmmakers Avoid Continuity Errors During Filming Because The Devil Is In The Details

I would bet even money odds there has not been a movie made that did not have at least one continuity error

. Movie scenes are not shot in sequence, so there is a lot of room for error. There are communities of sites online dedicated to finding errors in movies. A continuity error can be as minor as a character's glass was not filled at exactly the same level from one frame to the next in a certain scene.

Blatant continuity movie errors can kill the suspension of disbelief for a viewer. Picture a villain shown with a pistol in their right hand, whiskey neat in their left, and an unlit cigarette hanging from their lips about to shoot a single victim. Cut away to single victim then back to the villain. This time the audience sees the villain with a pistol in their left hand, water bottle in their right hand, and they are chewing bubble gum.

Movie continuity is something that production needs to look out for. Script supervisors are the best in the movie business at keeping continuity during filming. They are worth their weight in gold when they catch continuity problems during filming that will come back to haunt a filmmaker during post production. If the production budget can't swing the cost of a script supervisor then here are a couple of tips that can help keep continuity. You'll find you won't catch all mistakes when you go into post production, but you will greatly reduce mistakes.

This tip is from another filmmaker that has had success with it. Have actors keep track of their own continuity in a scene. Ask them to make mental notes of the hand they are holding a prop with, where they should physically positioned in a scene or down to what wardrobe they are supposed to be wearing in front of camera. Actors can be a huge help in avoiding many common continuity errors when they are made aware that there is not a script supervisor on crew.

Listen that the dialogue in the script is being spoken the same by actors during each take. This has nothing to do with an actors tone or delivery of a line. This has to do with what lines are written in the screenplay. There are some screenplays that better lend themselves to actors improvising dialogue during takes or were written so actors could ad-lib during filming.

Other times a first time filmmaker can feel overwhelmed when actors do not deliver their lines the way they are scripted. I have worked with actors that have suggested line changes that were awesome and included in the script. Other times an actor might say a line kind of the same. "Kind of the same" can drive a director and editor crazy in post production when they are trying to keep dialogue continuity. Having actors stick to the script keeps filming running smoothly. If an actor or director feel a line is not working or want to change it then do it. Just make sure the line change stays the same.

I support the idea of having actors involved with looking out for continuity errors during filming. On a independent film shoot odds are there will not be a professional script supervisor on set and the filmmaker will be stretched paper thin already. Having sharp actors keep track of their own continuity during filming will help production avoid mistakes.

If you're already an experienced filmmaker you'll be much better equipped to deal with improvisational dialogue coming from actors. First time filmmakers can run into a bit of trouble when actors are delivering lines different ways take after take. Actors are creative and can come up with great lines on in the midst of a scene, if one of those moments happens run with it as a movie maker. But back yourself up by making a note to the script a line or lines has been changed. What you want to really avoid is an actor saying dialogue a different way every single take. Indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing SMASH CUT.

by: Sid Kali.

POST COMMENT

Software Development, web development Software Development Solutions: Effective for Everyone Error 2512 Post Dbcc Checkdb Failure Unexpected System32 Errors - Quick Solution ! Ptchangefilterservice Application Error - How to Stop Errors ! Could Not Load Cfg Error - Clean Errors Now ! Error In Crypt32 - Try the Following ! Recovering Sql Server 2008 Database From Error 2537 File Exe Failed To Start ? - How to Stop Errors ! Staffing Software in India: Empowering India the right way Who Needs Msds Software Available partition recovery software if the file or directory unreadable Overall Value for Money in Data Organization Software with the Laplink PCsync 6