Film RulesMatch on Action, 180° Rule & Shot, Reverse Shot

180° Rule• The 180° rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship

between two characters within a scene. There is an imaginary line called the axis that connects the characters in the centre of where they are located, if the camera passes over the axis it is known as crossing the line.

• The characters that are being filmed must always remain in the centre of the screen, while the camera must always face towards the object. The characters being filmed must also remain on the same side if the camera passes over the axis when filming.

Match on Action

• Match on action is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot.

• This creates the impression of a sense of continuity as the action carrying through creates a visual bridge which draws the viewer’s attention away from slight cutting or continuity issues. However, this is not a graphic match cut, it portrays a continuous sense of the same action rather than matching two separate things.

Shot, Reverse Shot

• Shot, reverse shot is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other.

• A shot showing what the character is supposedly looking at (over the shoulder shot) is followed by a reverse angle shot of the character themselves looking at it, or of the other character looking back at them. Shot reverse shot often relates to the 180° rule to retain continuity by not distorting the audience’s sense of location of the characters in the shots.