Continuity

Continuity is the match between setups that appear one after another in the finished film but were recorded separately and often in a completely different order. Everything that would have to stay the same in the story time also has to stay the same in the picture — otherwise a visible error arises.

What stays unchanged between two takes

• Hair: parting, braid, strand in the face, open or tied.
• Makeup: colour, intensity, shine.
• Clothing: which piece is still on the body, how it sits, which button is open.
• Jewellery: earrings, chains, rings, piercings — even if they are only briefly visible.
• Position: where you stand, which way you look, which hand lies where.
• Objects: fill level of a glass, position of a prop on the table.

The reason for apparently pointless repeats

A scene is rarely shot in one piece. Usual is to record the same action several times from different positions: once wide, once close, once from the opposite direction. Between those passes sit rebuild pauses of twenty minutes and more.

If in that pause you brush the hair behind the ear, the same strand in the next take suddenly belongs somewhere else. In the cut it then jumps. That is why someone asks you to go back into a position that already seemed over, and that is why a take is repeated that felt good to you. It is not about your performance, but about two pictures that have to fit together.

On larger productions a dedicated person looks after that and photographs after every setup the state of costume, hair and set. On small crews hair and makeup do that on the side — or nobody does, and then it is on you to think along.

Why a matching error costs money

If the error is noticed on the shoot, the setup has to be rebuilt: lights, camera, sound, everyone involved. That easily costs an hour. If it is only noticed in the cut, the material is either unusable or a reshoot is needed — and that is many times more expensive than the hour on the shoot day.

That is why the most important point is: during a running setup change nothing on your own. Do not restyle hair, do not take off jewellery, do not adjust a piece of clothing without saying so briefly. If something bothers you, say so — then it is documented and carried through all matching shots.

Practically on the shoot day

Before the first take take thirty seconds and make a stocktake with your eyes: what am I wearing, how does the hair lie, what do I have in my hand. During a rebuild, mark your position against a fixed point in the room. And if you are unsure whether something was changed, ask. That question costs five seconds; the reshoot costs half a day.