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Let me tell you a story!
Let's take a girl running.
Here's the first shot of her running up the stairs.
Now we show her continuing to run to the next flight of stairs.
Here's she comes to the archway.
And now we show a bit closer shot of her taking a moment to stretch,
and off she goes.
In all four shots, she had the same clothes, shoes, and ponytail.
That's continuity; keeping stuff the same from one shot to the next.
You all know that, right? Great!
NOW, before you even start filming, there's another type of continuity, and that's Story Continuity.
The person watching your film or video must be able to track
with it, or you will lose them -- they won't like it. Here's an example: (My Un-story)
Now we show her continuing to
run to the next flight of stairs.
Let me tell you a story!
Here's she comes to the archway.
Here's an example:
Let's take a girl running. (WHAT???)
Even though the individual scenes work, the story has no continuity, and it was
confusing, even though you just already saw it!
Here's the point.
You want someone to watch your film or video and like it.
Before that you have to deliver it. Before that you have to render it. Before that you have to edit it, shoot it, plan it.
And, before that, you have to have a story. So...Where's the first place your film or
video will go wrong?
It's not your editing, your sound, you lens, your camera, or your ability to light a scene.
It's the Story! It doesn't matter what story you are trying to tell; a home movie,
a baby story, a wedding, a music video, a short film, a tutorial video, even
even a camera review. Anything really. They all tell a story, and the viewer has to be able to track
with it.
Your viewer may forgive the actor having a different cup in their hand from one scene
to the next. They will not, however, forgive a bad story. And a good story flows
from one shot to the next, one scene to the next,
one sequence to the next.
That's how the viewer tracks with it. And THAT'S story continuity!
I wanted to make sure you knew the exact, and first point, where your video or film
will go off the rails. One is having no story. Two is no continuity of story.
So...It doesn't matter if you're doing an epic 3 hour movie, or a simple 3 minute camera review.
Before you shoot, look at what you're about to shoot.
Do you have a story? Will the viewer be able to track with it? Does the story
and dialogue flow from one shot to the next, one scene to the next, one sequence to the next?
Does the whole thing flow from the beginning to the end?
If it does, I'd say you've got a pretty good chance of people liking it. If not, well, fix it!
I hope that helps, and,
thanks for watching!
I hope that helps, and, thanks for watching! (Cat Meows)