Exercise 12 – The importance of continuity

In week 11, the topic of continuity came up, and whilst I was aware of its relevance, I did not realise the extent to which it is so closely monitored. There is nothing more jarring than watching a film or show, and noticing a difference in the placement of something or someone each cut. There is also the hilarious example of the Starbucks cup resting on a table in Game of Thrones, which nobody seemed to pick up on during filming or editing, hence the world was able to see it. One thing I should have been aware of, but for some reason did not think about it consciously, was the need to replicate backgrounds for shoots that are done later on in the filmmaking process. It could be for any given reason that a reshoot is required, e.g sound issues, corrupted footage, maybe a late change to the script, but it is often the case that the set used in the original scene is no longer accessible, so it must be closely replicated, or at least look convincing enough to fit the original location. 

There is a designated role that I was not aware of, which is somebody to monitor continuity and take notes on how everything is set up, and the specifics of each location that would need to be replicated in the case of a reshoot. In Exercise 12, we were required to film a short scene of two people sitting together, with two shots (a wide shot and a medium close-up of ‘Sophie’) being filmed in one location, and a third shot (a medium close-up of ‘Mullins’). This meant we had to find two similar locations to make it feel as if there was no location change, and rather than have one set continuity monitor, we brainstormed as a group possible locations to do this. 

Our group settled on using a rooftop terrace to film the wide shot and the MCU, as there were huge pot plants and tables that we had seen on campus in other places. However, when we arrived at the second location (which we believed had the same pot plants), we discovered that it did not have identical ones, and we were left to find another location. In the end, the second location we tried to make work, but it did not match exactly what we wanted, but we needed to still film the shot to get it done in the limited time we had. This also highlighted the importance of location scouting ahead of time, but this was not a luxury that we had with the hour-and-a-half timeframe we were given. 

Whilst our approach may have differed from what would usually happen, with a set having to be found quickly at a later date, it was still a good exercise, as it gave insight into the difficulty of having to film in a new place, and it helped us develop a heightened awareness of the small things. I had the importance of location scouting reinforced, and learnt about a whole new role that in my future productions, will definitely have to assign to somebody on set to ensure things go smoothly.