Continuity editing

The definition of continuity is a continuous or connected whole, with editing this means the action flows smoothly across scenes and shots keeping the consistencies and hiding the edits. Continuity is also known as ‘invisible editing’ or ‘classical Hollywood editing’ because it does such a good job of hiding the edits.  This helps establish a sense of story for the viewer. The majority of films are edited so that time seems to flow, within continuity editing only cuts will be used. 

This video is a good example of continuity editing because there is so much action going on in the scene it hides the edits well. In the video there is so many different angles being shown that you know it wasn’t done in one take but is portrayed to be because the actions match up. This means the video flows consistently. For example from 1:03-1:12 there are 5 edits from different angles of the car flipping over. This worked well because of continuity editing, you notice that the angles have changed but it still feels like one shot. The continuity editing works and is used in this scene to show a sense of chaos as it switches views constantly to show the full effect of the madness that’s going on. Because its quick cuts in one ‘continuous’ sequence it speeds up the pace of the scene as well. Continuity editing works well with changing the pace of scenes especially in fight scenes as the quick cuts and different angles can build tension as you’re waiting for the outcome. The music can add to continuity editing as in this scene the music is upbeat and adds to the tension that builds from the edits.