Rules of continuity -

30 degree rule - The 30 degree rule suggests that the camera should move a minimum of 30 degrees to the subject between successive shots of the same person or object. If the camera is moved less than 30 degrees the results will look something like a jump cut, and that will become jarring and distract the viewer from the story





180 degree rule - The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline that refers to the spatial relationship between a character and another character or object in a scene by keeping the camera on one side of the two characters. this technique allows the viewer to take in any unseen movement happening behind or around the main subject. 

This is an example of breaking the 180 degree rule taken from 'The Shining'. Jack Torrance is the newly hired, mentally unstable caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, he confronts the ghost of Delbert Grady in the bathroom of the hotel bar, when Jack goes to clean up after he has spilled a drink on himself. Cutting across the 180° line in this scene has a big impact because on the symmetrical composition of every shot, which uses single a point perspective where both the ceiling and floor frame the two centered characters

Match on action - Matching on action is a technique where one shot is cut to another shot that matches the first shots actions. The two shots may have been shot hour or days apart, but cutting on action gives the impression of continuous time when watching the final film. This technique creates a visual bridge, by having a character begin an action in one shot and finish it in another. It also helps to distract the viewers attention so they might not notice the cut or any minor continuity errors between shots.

Match on action is used in this iconic musical number from 'greece' to emphasize reality and fantasy. The scene begins as Danny and his T-birds are working on a car. Danny slides underneath and the scene cut to an imaginary sequence, when the song is finishing the camera cuts to a frame of Danny and his group posing with a red car to them in the same pose with an older more battered car.

Shot Reverse shot -  A Shot reverse shot is when a character is shown looking at another character usually off-screen, and the other character is shown looking back at the first character. The viewer assumes the characters are looking at each other because they are shown facing opposite directions.

Eye line Match -An eye line match is when the audience can see what the character on-screen is seeing. An eye line match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut of another object or person: for example, a close up shot of a man looking off-screen is followed by a shot of a television. The audience will infer that the man was looking at the Tv, despite never showing the man watching the Tv. 

An Eyeline match is used in this scene as the delorean is being unveiled. The combination of a mid shot showing Marty's confused expression as he looks out of the frame and a wide shot of the delorean as it pulls out of the sea container is effective because it makes the viewer feel fully immersed in the action as they may feel they are there with the characters. This technique is also good for character development in this scene because it emphasizes Doc's eccentric personality. 

Parallel editing - Parallel editing, or at is usually called cross cutting, is a technique where scenes that are often in a different location are edited together for narrative purposes.

Parallel editing is used for dramatic effect in this scene from hollyoaks because there a two scenes running concurrently that merge into one. Scenes of Tony and Diane having a dispute are contrasted against happy scenes of the Malik family wanting to celebrate Imrans recent successes. The scenes merge together in one big crash, creating an emotive response from the viewer as they would hope the characters are unharmed. 

Montage - A Montage is a film editing technique where a series of short shots have been edited together into a sequence to condense time, space and information. A montage sequence is usually used to signify a change of time rather than creating symbolic meaning. These sequences often combined with a range of shots with special optical effects such as; split screens, double and triple exposures, dissolves, fades,  dance and music that might convey the emotions of the sequencee. 

Flashbacks - A flashback is a scene that takes the narrative back from the time that the story is set. Flashbacks are typically used to recount events that have happened before the point in time the story is set. In movies and television, several camera techniques, editing software and special effects have been developed to indicate to the viewer that the action shown is a flashback. 

This flashback is used in 'Forest Gump' and it is effective because it helps to develop the narrative and set the scene. The scene begins with a two shot of Forest and stranger waiting for a bus, the camera begins to slowly zoom into forest as he talks about his childhood, stopping on a close up of forests head. The camera cuts to a similar shot of a young boy, the audience will infer that the young boy is forest.