TYPES OF CONTINUITY :

Narrative continuity, perceptive, formal raccord, movement, action, direction, lighting, costumes and props, among others.

In cinematography, narrative continuity is called "raccord" and must be achieved in several aspects. With the different shots (even between shots) we get the illusion of creating a sequence with a unique continuous message. It is an illusion in which the scenes, as in the frames (vignettes) of a comic are linked one after another in the head of the viewer.

Have you noticed the costumes that the actors wear? There are action movies with constant fights in which the main character does not even get to disheveled. In realization, they have decided on a "raccord" of costumes in which each actor wear the same clothing. It really would not be the "natural" thing, since the clothes would be spoiled as the action progresses, but this way there is a continuity that many spectators will not see as "shocking" or rare.

Therefore we must distinguish between narrative continuity (a single message with different shots or series of shots) and the "raccord" (a technical adjustment to achieve that continuity through certain camera positions, actions of the actors, props (atrezo), etc.) and we can see them as the unit of the "literary" script for the first and the "technical" script for the second.

The narrative and the perceptual continuity contemplate two variable elements in different degrees that we are going to see below::

1. The first is the continuity of the narration that starts from the filming of the complete scene and everything that happens in a shot with ellipsis and significant cuts in which the spectator fills in the gaps.
2. The second is the time-space continuity that starts in this case from the filming of the scene on the same setting or stage and on the same time, until the disintegration of the scene in different scenarios and narrative times (consider, for example, in flashbacks).

There are many raccord "tricks", learned through the experience gained in previous movies. Here are a few examples; when an actor has to go from one building to another, the march will have an address that will be maintained until it arrives. It does not matter if we record the whole journey or a small fragment. The viewer will help us with their own perception and will not notice the jumps generated by the ellipsis. Another example is when two actors engage in a conversation. It is seen that his gaze remains oriented towards the other person, even when the camera shows us only one actor.

The types of raccord will refer to these "tricks" of camera and recording.

Formal, Space-time

Of Movement and Direction

Of Action and Interpretation

Of lighting

Costume and props (atrezo)

Punctuation and transition signs.

As in any text, the transmission of messages is not done continuously. For example, here I am using commas and periods to separate phrases and sentences. Well, in audiovisual language we also have certain fragments of image that serve the same purpose. Let's think about the most common ones, which are transitions and fades, although they are not the only ones.

Let's start with the opening of the scene and its closure. The room is no longer illuminated by the side lights and we only see the emergency lights and the black screen. Little by little, from the black screen we see something that ends up filling the screen (usually the animation that presents the studio or producer that made the film) and immediately, we return to black. Without being part of the film, we have contemplated a "sentence" with its beginning in capital letters to its point and apart. That technique will be repeated incessantly in the movie that we will see next.

The dissolves are able to link several shots without there being a significant break that causes the viewer to disengage from the projection. Famous, by antiquated, are the lateral and vertical fades of Star Wars, which have become one of their hallmarks. But the normal thing is that we do not notice them since they are made as fades, crossfades and cuts.

Let's see some types:

Cutting (or simply 'cut') - involves a change in the camera's point of view.

Fade in and Fade out (even any other color, including white) - there is a change of scene and especially temporary between one scene and another.

Chained cut - serves to create continuity with different shots.

Sweep or Crossfading - the same as the fade, but with a blurred image between each shot. It can serve to accelerate perception and change focus in the same scene without change in the scenario or in time.

Wipe out (like in Star Wars) - very old-fashioned and typical of family videos.

The transitions have been created over time and are codes that are respected since the viewer is used to them. Without being too ambitious, these transitions are great help when creating messages and continuity in video and comics. The passage from one scene or taking another should be as natural as possible without too many effects (a cut is usually better than a curtain, for example). Another completely different case is when, with the camera fixed, as in YouTube tutorials, the "youtuber" has decided to cut a part that has not gone well. Even when we are very accustomed, in that case if it is convenient to make some kind of fade, even insert some other recording for a few seconds, so as not to see those ghostly jumps between cut and cut.

With the ellipsis we get that, without having to work more, the viewer does not miss anything, so the narrative continuity is not broken and we save in efforts. In the same way, it is an element (an absence of elements) rich and interesting that we must control so as not to create redundancies that the spectator does not need and to use it as a narrative tool.

Ellipses can be:

Inherent: eliminates spaces and times of weak and unnecessary content for the action. It shortens the footage and is usually achieved with short shots that require fewer sets. Sometimes a simple poster like "four years later" saves us having to watch the evolution of the story in a tedious way.

Expressive: when the ellipsis is the message itself. For example, when you move from the bone to the spacecraft in 2001 to show the evolution of the human species.

Structural: the ellipsis creates mystery and suspense. For example, when we do not know who the killer is until the end (objective) or when the character does not know something or we listen to his "internal monologue" away from the environment (subjective)

Content: when a scene is deleted by censorship or self-censorship. For example remove explicit sex to make the film is for all audiences or when they remove political references to avoid problems with totalitarian regimes and project the film there.