180 DEGREE RULE

The rule■ The 180 degrees rule means that the camera must stay within 180

degrees.■ If there is a conversation between 2 characters the camera should not

go to the other side when recording facial expressions. The camera should always be on the same side through that scene.

■ The camera can only move in a semi circle motion.■ The camera should never go past the imaginary line. The line is drawn

perpendicular to the camera’s viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene.

■ The rule enforces continuity.■ The same rule applies to filming sports

Never break the rule■ The rule should only be broken for effect but it’s usually

best to never break it.■ Breaking the rule will confuse the audience and they will

lose focus. This could make them miss important parts of the film.

■ It’s especially important to use this rule in chase scenes, conversations and sports.

Ways to break the rule■ The only way to cross the line is to show the camera

movement otherwise the viewer will not be oriented.■ Once the line has been crossed you have to stay on that

side unless you show the movement of the camera back.

Match on action■ Match on action is an editing technique for continuity in which

one shot cuts to another shot, portraying an action of the subject in the first shot. This creates the impression of a sense of continuity and takes the attention away from any slight cutting or continuity issues. It portrays a continuous sense of the same action rather than matching separate things.

■ An example of math on action is a man walking up to a door and reaching for the knob. Just as his hand touches the knob the scene cuts to a shot of the door opening from the other side.

Match on action example