Continuity Report Sheet: Continuity

Next you write down the notes that are specifically for continuity.

Location

You should note the location, either by writing ‘The Happy Haymaker’s Pub, Grove Road, Dorset’, or just ‘pub’. It all depends on whether there is a separate list of locations on the schedule and how important you feel the information to be.

Shot Description

This description should state how a shot begins, how it ends and any development in the middle. It should be as concise as possible and an easy reference for yourself or the editor.

Continuity Notes

The space on the right of the sheet is left blank for you to fill in information which is important for continuity.

At the start of a new scene always write what the artists are wearing and how their hair is arranged. Make a note of any props they are carrying, e.g. a walking stick. Notes about make-up are only made for a major effect, like a cut cheek, which would heal during the progress of the story.

You might use the space to note any specific dressing props, ‘N.B. Fire must be alight’, and you should make a sketch of the shot, with the position of the camera and actors noted down. You might also draw diagrams of set dressing – for example, a table laid for a meal.

You need to note down what part of the scene was covered by this shot. Having marked up your script in advance by giving every character’s dialogue a different letter of the alphabet, you can easily note where each shot begins and ends – i.e. Dialogue A-E. Alternatively, you will have to note down the ‘in’ and ‘out’ words of dialogue.