It is kinda beautiful seeing him execute it and how those cuts don’t ruin the film; it cements the argument that abrupt editing cuts don’t ruin the continuity at all
People say Kubrick was a perfectionist, so all the continuity errors in his movies must be a hidden message or whatever. Kubrick wasn't that focused on continuity, he focused on the acting and cinematography. That's his perfectionism
Little things like this end up creating those false threads you can endlessly speculate too. I wonder how many theories on Kubrick might fall away if we just accepted that noticeable cuts in editing aren’t intentional messages or at the very least aren’t always a message. Example: since the books are all consistently placed in the background, he’s commenting on the documented history of cinema being the only truly important statement.
"People say." Let's name names: Rob Ager. Dude literally thinks every prop and set in 2001 that has a right angle in it is part of a secret message. He treats media literacy like its the DaVinci code or National Treasure.
@@prosiescoteau2152 oh palease - Ager is as Ager does, but he is FAR from alone. People notice Calimet, which at least appears very deliberate, and then see the purposefully nonsensical setup of the hotel, and they think it gives them license to say ANYTHING is part of a message in The Shining. Its because they are ignorant about film, film technique and history. If they REALLY wanted to go back and watch all Kubrick films where he had enough control, and watch them over and over again, they could, but they never will. They instead pick a few flicks and watch various scenes over and over again trying to find meaning in even one blurry line. Kubrick's films have variable continuity errors because he tended to overshoot and decide later in editing which one was best for the messages he wanted to tell - so, it naturally follows a wavering amount of errors. Unless the errors in a film follow some logic and have some consistency (or are overtly obvious), its best to just ignore them. But hey, some people need to sell UA-cam views, so... endless wondering about The Shining. But also - Ager is a person who likes to plagiarize - he has a video saying that symbolically, the monolith in 2001 is a film screen turned 90 degrees - and its rather compelling lens overall. However, what he didn't say, at least not originally, was that this idea comes from someone else who posted about it online at least a decade ago (or it was written about more recently-ish, but the idea is from so-and-so in the 1970's - I forget which, i posted about under the video given it seemed like a ripoff after I double checked the idea - since, like, it would be odd for noone to come up with that in 50+ years).
To be fair, the Overlook Hotel being architecturally impossible might be intentional. And that theory comes from continuity errors in the hallways and such
@@MelchVagquestthe shining specifically having such a nutty ending and so many open to interpretation details that you can't really know where the paranormal layers of the hotel end is what's made it so enduring for theory crafting even after many decades, we'll never know for sure at this point what was intentional
As a script supervisor on sets, it is exactly my job to make sure these don’t happen while we film. But unfortunately I have no power in post-production, and even if the notes I write to the editor say that there’s an error in a take, the acting and pacing will always win over my continuity work! That’s life, and that’s film, it can’t be perfect all the time
Sounds like Script Supervisor and Film Editor are two of the most exacting and detail-oriented jobs on set/off set. Where would we be without you guys? :)
@@meganhartmann180 honestly it’s sad that nobody knows my job exists, we’re pretty far in the credits, so nobody from the public knows what we do, which is sad cause in the field it’s considered one of the hardest and most important role on a set. I wish the public knew more about our special and important job :)
Although it's important to acknowledge the effort of continuity and script supervision work that you guys put, I think we all can agree that we have seen enough films where the core idea of the film done right just overrides all continuity errors, conventional inconsistencies and production limitations. And then these imperfections just add to the fun.
@@rana1561 To be fair, continuity supervisor don't only make sure these types of errors occur, we also make sure the director has all the shots needed for editing, make sure the camera work makes sens for editing, sometimes rehearse with actors if there are no acting coaches on set, we're also the memory of the movie. So even if some of these continuity errors end up in the finished product, I really don't feel like my work wasn't useful, it's only a blast to see them and try to understand why they end up there!
@@bastiencheverry4027 oh absolutely, I agree that even when evaluating the consistency in the movie, different aspects have different priorities, as you mentioned, there are multiple aspects of supervision that can affect the film's experience more than the others. As a viewer, it's a great reminder, that just like oral tradition of storytelling, the inconsistencies are part of the fact that they are at the end of the day, a story, a recreation.
Excellent job maintaining one continuous voice throughout all of your scene changes. The objects in the background clearly changed, but your VO never felt disjointed. That is difficult to do and you executed it wonderfully!
yes that was seriously impressive! Makes me appreciate how much he must work to accomplish this in every video, and it is just more obvious in this one
The one at 3:26 was so mind-blowingly seamless in the audio, I had to rewind it several times to admire it, just to confirm there was actually a jump cut in the video!
This was fun seeing you playing with non-continuity editing by literally altering your surrounding and even your own appearance as the video progressed. Another gem of a video.
My favorite use of purposeful continuity breaking is in the movie Snatch. It’s when Benicio Del Toro’s character is trying on different clothes while on the phone. Every time it would cut to the person on the other line and then cut back, he’d be wearing different clothes, as though he completely changed in half a second.
In the same movie, what stood out for me was when Turkish proceeds to explain to Tommy a wager involving the coursers set loose on the hare: he begins the explanation in a field, and yet seemingly waits until they’re back in the Rover some time later before finishing. Taken literally, and in real time, Tommy must’ve been thinking, “WTF has he stopped talking all of a sudden?”
As someone who works in film, I can tell you that these mistakes are seen, acknowledged, and addressed on set. However, we also know that the footage will be edited together by someone who hasn't been on set, and didn't get to hear all the discussion, so that he or she can edit the film based purely on emotional impact. So if a mistake slipped by in one take, they might opt for that instead of a later take where it's been corrected. Their decision.
Interesting take! I hadn't thought of that aspect of the process, in which an essentially "disinterested party" takes all the raw footage, watches it with a critical eye, and then makes objective editorial decisions to make the finished product. I had the opportunity to make a (very) short film, but in my case, the editor was also one of the actors. This was out necessity, because she was the one with the editing software and know-how. So, in retrospect, I wonder how the film might have turned out differently had we had a dedicated film editor who was not on-set. Hm!
@@meganhartmann180 Yes. Super important. All editors tell me that they don't want to find out about all the drama on set. They just want to see that footage for what it is. Plenty of shots I've poured my soul into, that were later cut out because of pacing etc. No regrets!
@meganhartmann180 not totally though. Editors will get sheets where the mistakes are written. And directors are in the editing room for a lot of stuff being made. But it's kinda true: editor decides not to look at the sheets, and directors dont care about continuity a lot of timesx as they mostly watch for the acting
A similar argument in popular music is constantly beaten over our heads. The concept of "pitchiness" has been exacerbated to the point of railroading performances into autotuned blandness rather than celebrating the heartfelt emotion that variations from tonality evoke.
Excellent point. In the "era of Auto Tune," I think my brain has been trained to pick out more voice/pitch imperfections in earlier recording that I might not have ever noticed otherwise . Man is an imperfect creature, and we should revel in how well our art reflects that state of imperfection, while also praising its ability to help us ascend to a different plane of existence. (That said, every once in a while, I find a pitch imperfection that sets my teeth on edge. Maybe the audio engineer *could* have included a different take in those cases. Lol).
@@meganhartmann180 Western music is very rigid respecting tonality. Whereas, something may not be "out of tune" but rather, "microtonal." It's in the difference between off-key and microtonality where the magic happens. Shackling traditional blues to western conventions is where "plastic soul" was born. But, yeah, a sour note is always a sour note. I figure it works the same way with film editing. Sometimes, the Scripty just blows it. XD
I think my favorite example of non-continuity editing is in The Social Network where they cut between depositions to connect different characters' accounts of events, even when they aren't in the room together to respond to each other directly. Another best editing Oscar there too!
I remember when I first noticed that cigar discontinuity from Goodfellas I thought “whoa, that doesn’t match up”, but then as I began to pay attention to the cuts in that scene more closely I started to notice that NOTHING was really quite matching up. It was usually a lot more subtle, but Paul Sorveno’s position almost never really matched from cut to cut, and as it went on it started to feel less like a “mistake” and more like a deliberate aesthetic choice, one that called into question the time frame of what we were watching. By the end of the scene, I’d come to see it not as a straight forward real-time chronicle of a complete conversation, but something more like a montage of selected moments from a much longer, rambling, repetitive conversation, boiled down to the essential core moments that just magically seemed to have the flow of a real-time conversation. So maybe I wasn’t exactly sure just what they were doing, but I’d definitely come to the conclusion that it was fascinating rather than just sloppy.
Imagine being an actor and delivering the most raw emotional line delivery of your career. Then the director is like “We gotta redo it, your left thumb was in the wrong position!!!” That’s why there are so many continuity errors: *they do not matter*
I'd argue they do matter to some degree. Imagine being an actor and delivering your most raw line delivery of your career, and everybody gets distracted by a very obvious continuity error, that takes the viewers out of the scene. If it's just the thumb, sure, it's probably not even going to get noticed. But even though acting and feel of the scene in general has a higher priority than continuity, they still have to weight every case on its own. There is that continuity error at the end of the first Spiderman movie, where MJ's hand in the black glove changes repeatedly between being on Peter's cheek and not being on it. That immediately took me out of the emotional scene, and I remember it even got parodied somewhere (Superhero Movie I believe?)..
@@SmeagolTheGreat I agree. As a former military guy, I notice obvious flaws in military custom and culture. I'm sure cops, nurses, lawyers, and football players notice hiccups in their profession as well. It may only impact 1% of the viewing population but it's nevertheless distracting and destroys the immersion factor. I imagine continuity do that for many viewers.
0:00 "Huh, his background isn't usually this visible." 5:00 "Wait..." 12:00 "THE PAINTING AND TAPESTRY WENT!" 13:00 "Is he going to talk about this...?" 15:00 "What else changed? The lighting, the background, did his clothes change, is is hair different, whaaaaat?" 17:00 "What's he been saying for the last three minutes?" 17:33 "Do I rewatch it just to notice all the different adjustments?"
Oh my god. I thought I was going insane when you started to talk about the painting in the Wes Anderson shot, showing it briefly, and then cutting back to you speaking . . . and that very same painting was no longer on the wall behind you. ow my head
Most of these make me smile when I notice them. So did this vid. Love how you break open the language of the art by going back to its beginning. Great job.
My favourite both from Martin Scorsese: The Taxi Driver speech "you screwheads" where it cuts and begins again. and Shutter Island, the glass disappearing to symbolize Teddy's aversion to water (in the interrogation scene with the patients)
In a lot of Asian Action Cinema, Fight Scenes are edited "noncontinously" to emphasize the impacts. cutting from right after the impact in a wide shot, to right before the impact on a closeup.
This video made me realize that Continuity Editing is just another style of filmmaking, as opposed to the "correct" way of making movies. In another vein, think about the art styles we saw with paintings. Once artists got so technically advanced that they could depict scenes with near photo accuracy, we saw new styles emerge like impressionsim, expressionism, abstractionism. Art was no longer about depicting true accuracy in a literal sense but instead about conveying feelings and emotions.
Indeed!! You make an excellent point. I guess one way of putting it is that, art is an interpretation of life. Do we depict the life and world around us just as we experience it moment-to-moment? Sometimes, but we don't have to. And, our lives are colored by always emotions and our subjective experiences and perceptions. And stranger still, there are even times in our everyday existence when there seem to be distortions and discontinuities in time and our sensual perceptions. Art can only imperfectly portray what is in the artist's mind, but the more "tricks" we have in our tool kit, the better.
The first time I really noticed this was someone complaining about Madonna's vocals on Oh Father - but if you listen to other song on Like A Prayer, she doesn't sound like that. I am of the opinion her voice is supposed to sound pushed, stressed, and all that - the song Like a Prayer doesn't have those issues, for example. I do wonder if today, if she were to have made that album, would that song have been processed up to sound cleaner like other songs on the album. There is a quote from Madonna about not overworking a song (or else it loses its eddgieness or energy, etc.) - but would she have thought that if born later?
those styles emerged because of the invention of photography and other technological developments. Doing something that photography couldn't was one of the main driving forces behind the impressionist movement. Your point still stands, though - it is another style of painting that focusses on capturing a perception rather than reality, like high renaissance painting (or photography)
I was not watching your video. Just listening while doing the dishes. And I noticed one of your Easter eggs and now I had to WATCH you video a second time. Great job. Super fun. You just got another sub:)
The film "The Father" is an excellent example of a film that uses "continuity errors" to convey an idea of what the main character, who has Alzheimer's, experiences during his life as the disease progresses.
One conversation cut between numerous locations is a very common feature in heist movies. E.G. Ocean's Eleven... A plan explained to the crew in all the locations they'll use over the heist. You'll see it in Fantastic Mr Fox or indeed Spring Breakers
Yeah, I feel like Ocean's Eleven was very influential in future films that included a "heist/team - driven" plot. Does anyone know if Ocean's Eleven was the first to use that technique?
Editing my own Medium Lenght Film since quite a while now, about to get back to it again in a few minutes, this video definetly lifts the spirit and helps to focuss on the essentials again. I think everyone who has edited stuff knows how easy it can be to sometimes get lost in the process. Thanks for the Video Thomas
it's like a bigger version of "did you notice the gorilla playing basketball" if the film is good, you're so wrapped up in the performance, etc that you don't notice something disjointed in the background
Good video! I've never minded continuity errors, they're a reminder you're watching work made by people which is what I have come to love most in films. Continuity errors, practical effects, stop-motion, expressionism, those are the things I love. The expression of people's creativity.
Loved this breakdown and the continuity errors in this vid. Some were subtle like paintings and positions of items others were obviously with lighting. Super well crafted
I'd been obsessed about this topic for so long now. In fact, it all started with one of the clips you put in the video (Wolf of Wall Street scene with one shot where we hear DiCaprio's character, but he is literally not moving his mouth in the shot thanks to brilliant editing). And I wanted to write about this because... what happens when in animation you have a 100% control over continuity? I'd been working for Animated movies and series for four years now (I know is not that much) and I'm totally convinced that the obsession on "continuity" in the industry is a huge, huge problem. And, in my not so humbre opinion, a give away to bad directors, bad leads, etc. Why is that? Some times, when you work on smaller European productions as I did, the schedule is tight and the quota (the amount of work we need to do fer day or week) is really high. So, why is continuity a big, huge problem? Because most of the directors, animation supervisors and leads give tons and tons of feedback on continuity. We, animators, spend too much time nailing the continuity from shot to shot way too much, putting our time and attention into nailing the exact degree of rotation for the arm from shot to shot, so we spend most of our limited resources into this technical manners, and not into improving acting, posing or composition. As you pointed out, master filmmakers had issues with continuity constantly in our favourite movies in other to edit the best shots, acting and story while we are spending 40% of our retake quota in micro-adjustments in the head tilt of a character out of focus... I don't know, I hope this sparks new thoughts about this topic to you.
What do you think an animated film with continuity errors look like, do you suppose?? Now there's an interesting proposition. And, perhaps a really cool film will come out of it .... anyone? :)
@@meganhartmann180 Austin: well, it depends what the errors are! There are already plenty of animated movies out there with continuity errors, even though they are tried to be minimized. I would say the biggest effect a break in continuity has is on attention. The preservation of continuity is (as a part of life, but also in media, traditionally) expected, so a sudden break in continuity is something unexpected, and it draws your attention to that thing, if noticed. A big break in continuity can draw your attention away from the rest of the story for a bit, if used intentionally it can cause a strong "wtf" moment, and many consecutive breaks in continuity can cause a disorienting, overwhelming, or dreamlike quality. Another aspect of animation, related to continuity and also arguably over-enforced is designs being "on-model", a character being off model can similarly be distracting, but can be used to great effect as well for things like expression and emphasis. An extreme example of both of these conventions being all but thrown out the window is many-animator projects, where the scenes are usually made with little to no direction or coordination, and often cut between wildly different styles and compositions very quickly. It's a tried and true showcase of how these principles are not absolutely needed to follow or enjoy animation (though these projects being based on pre-existing media helps, and the focus is usually more on the animation itself and the animators than the story per se). They're often overwhelming and distracting but also very engaging and interesting, we wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more of a middle ground in terms of continuity and models in more professional animation in the coming years.
@@meganhartmann180 Continuity errors in animation can come about in a number of different ways. Consecutive shots animated by separate people, animated by the same person but with a lot of time between working on them, some form of misunderstanding or miscommunication, or simple mistakes. When the schedule is extra tight, miscommunications and different people working on shots is particularly common. Some of the better-managed productions will, when found during test screenings, will usually make it more a matter of "how can we make it less noticeable" than of fixing it entirely.
I love my algorithm. Before this, I just watched a video about David Fincher filming 100+ takes sometimes. A lot of the time for contiinuity's sake. This was a great video, by the way, Thomas!
I love how you included matching continuity errors in your own edit. It's always fun to see a video essay incorporate the same techniques it's discussing. Also, since you started the video talking about Scorsese's films, I was surprised you didn't mention Shutter Island when you were giving examples of intentional continuity errors. There are so many scattered throughout the film, making you question the reality of Leo's character, like when the lady grabs the cup to take a sip of water, only for the cup to disappear from her hands in the next shot.
7:32 nice touch by turning off the light off your face to emphasize the continuity example. Also the painting behind you on the wall disappeared from 5:58 to 6:28 and then changing into another painting/print on another cut.
I feel like the constant hunt to find fault in film, music, art, (and even people) etc puts undue pressure on artists to be perfect, hence sucking the heart and soul out of said film, music, art, etc. There is still soulful art in modern times, but it seems like there is a lot more soul-less art than there used to be, and I blame this on needless scrutiny. On the topic of continuity errors, I think the Mark Twain quote "Never let the truth get in the way of way of a good story" can be at least loosely applied.
Another excellent and thoughtful video Thomas, and thank you for elaborating on continuity in terms of time and space. I find it so dull when people think its all about noticing a hot dog changed to a hamburger from one shot to the next shot! As a script supervisor myself, I don't notice continuity errors if the editing is skillfully and I'm truly engaged in the story (eyelines is another story.....). However, no discussion on Scorsese and continuity would be complete without acknowledging Martha Pinson - his long time script supervisor. She tracked the continuity, the dialogue, the blocking, the camera angles, the shot developments, the scene evolution, the adlibs, the improvs, the changes, the adjustments, the corrections, and the alternates so that all the options are available to Thelma Schoonmaker in the editing room. Amidst the creativity and often chaos, there does need to be a rock that everyone can rely on! More on Martha's craft: ua-cam.com/video/NAvn7CNpdB8/v-deo.html
Oooh, that that window change in 1:18 is hilarious, hadn't noticed. But with Wes I also feel like his movies are stories told in very subjective ways. They feel to me like someone tells you a story, and that's how someone, perhaps a child, would visualise the story told in their mind - the stories themselves are much about the what, while the how (the storytelling) is sometimes refreshingly fantastical :) I think that's what it often is when a person (especially a child-like person) is told a story in words and then pictures what that would have looked like...
I really like your style. Your voice and pace is on point. Professional. So many videos now are just rushed with silly jokes and stupid pop culture images. The only continuity error I noticed before this video was the boat in Apocalypse Now. I've seen almost all the films and missed the others.
I'm surprised Guy Maddin wasn't mentioned. He's a modern master of disregarding continuity in favour of creating a dreamlike scenario where anything is possible. I believe he said he's trying to recapture that childlike wonder he had when watching films for the first time.
I always thought unaligned continuity takes was just showing different POVs of moments in time during a scene. I never really looked at most of these examples as accidents! I loved learning the meaning behind them now!
I love the way he included constant continuity errors to help support his message by showing how some easy it is to miss or how inconsequential these errors are or how having non-continuity editing can be used to further control the feelings being evoked by a film
Great analysis! I really appreciate how you show while you're telling. I also appreciate your validation--I rearrange my room and change my look all the time and I don't think it makes me a bad continuist.
Hey Thomas, long time viewer of the channel. I just want to say that I REALLY appreciate the kind of videos you create on the chanel. I just finished my undergraduate degree in Film & Media at Berkeley which was all film theory and history rather than production based. I want to be a director and so at first I was a little apprehensive about going to a non production school, but over time I came to realize that although my degree is not practically useful, it has changed the way I look at and make movies and will continue to inform me as I progress. I also realized its easier to teach yourself how to make your own films, just go out and shoot them + the countless youtube channels dedicated to learning technical skills, but information like the ones you have in your videos are much harder to come by for non scholars. I think these types of information are VITAL to make good films, so I really appreciate your videos making these topics not only more accessible, but also just so damn appealing to people who may not have a nerdy degree in film theory! (also selfishly your videos have really kept me inspired to keep studying film history and theory!) Also your use of both more popular and obscure films as examples is amazing, your curration is top notch. All of that yapping to say, THANK YOU THOMAS! KEEP DOING YOU!
Kubrick had intentional continuity errors in The Shining to emphasize the surrealness (is that a word?) of what was going on, and/or to get the view too question what was real.
Awesome video. When you have someone who knows the art of the cut explain editing, it becomes clear how integral it is to communication. Really appreciate the effort to craft such a well presented essay.
wait it's been a while since I've seen Pulp Fiction but actually does that explain the "miracle"??? Maybe the characters didn't notice the existing bulletholes which led him to believe in the miracle.
This was a much needed video. I do have one thing to add: use of intentional continuity errors for purposes of humor. Two examples would be the running knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (impossible to miss) and Kip making nachos in Napoleon Dynamite (one you're unlikely to catch on first viewing).
I always thought the existing bullet holes in Pulp Fiction were intentional. With Jules thinking an act of God saved him. While in reality, this shit hole of an appartement already had the holes and the guy charging in mistakenly used a gun filled with blanks. Or at least: Tarantino making it intentionally ambiguous whether this is an 'filmmaking error' or the holes were actually already there in the story.
Alternatively, perhaps the bullet holes were there because this isn't the first time that guy's fired a gun in his apartment, which would be pretty believable.
the harvester scene in pt.1 is my favorite continuity 'error'; such an impactful, purposefully jarring break that forces you to snap out of the trance alongside Paul. it's so well done
This was a cool peek into the style and art of keeping/making continuity "errors" in film. When I first encountered the work of Eisenstein in college, I was floored at how "modern" his films looked, despite the differences in technology between his time and ours. The man was a master in the use of dis-continuity to create a more potent narrative. And, I am really intrigued about Ziga Vertov's "Man with a Camera"!! The way you describe it sounds very much like Koyaanisqatsi, in which Godfrey Reggio explores an American "life out of balance" through a series of film pieces depicting natural and urban landscapes, sometimes even shown in reverse. That sort of film making, although harder for an audience to grasp and make sense of, often has the highest potential of depicting "big stories" which a singular narrative about a small group of people just can't. -- Also, on a more personal/meta note, I love your studio backdrop! You obviously chose every object and prop with intention, and it was amusing to see the way you incorporated the subject of the video subtly by moving and changing the backdrop. Well done!!
I was watching The Terminator on Amazon and almost every scene has a continuity error and I had no idea until they were pointed out by the X-Ray feature.
Darren Aronofsky is a master of this. The "drug taking" sequence of quick shots in Requim for a Dream; Pi also has them to great effect. Baraka also comes to mind, and I want to say Discreet Charm of the Bourgouse but it's been a minute. Love the continuity "errors" in the video itself too. This is a gem (with my minor edits added so I'm quoting you but with continity "errors" in my quote): "Look for connection between shots and scenes not just spatially and temporally, but rhythmically, emotionally, and thematically."
Fantastic video. I had great fun trying to spot all the changes you did, and it's a really clever way to drive home your point. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us all!
Wow, I never thought of continuity "error" as anything else than errors. You really opened up my eyes on what continuity really is and how it relate to the vision of the film maker or just the art itself. Thank you!
It's fascinating to hear this discussion of something I think about and deal with all the time, as a musician: the tension between authenticity of performance, and technical perfection.
This is my first video of yours that I’ve seen, but I just have to say mad respect for having “Boy With Apple” up. Grand Budapest is one of my all time favorite films
Seeing you without glasses right after a shot with you wearing them kinda jumpscared me xD Great Video!! So many details! Brilliant how you visibly show continuity breaks in your shots and it made me smile and appreciate your extra effort!
loved this vid and the changes to your background lol. first non-continuity edits that immediately came into mind for me were the nuclear bomb edits Nolan had in Oppenheimer (2024), with quick jumps in succession from Oppys face to an abstract visual (sort of like your experimental footage)
In math you have continuous variables, and discrete ones, so it makes sense to discuss continuity from the perspective the possible metric of a space, as for instance we are all familiar with discrete time, as just a time interval. In the case of the cigar scene, who is to say, that the person smoked their smoke, put down their cigar and then just happened to say the words, but the movie, rather than capturing that pause, juxtaposed the dialogue. It's all about how congruently you can fit the metric to viewer expectation, while having the movie as medium.
I'm just through editing my first feature. I really had to learn to stomach continuity errors, but I'm very glad I did. Too many headaches over shit people won't notice.
Wow I always loved the wolf of Wall Street lunch scene, but couldn’t help notice the continuity errors between shots, and I feel like no one has ever addressed it or cares, so I’m super stoked about this video!
Side note about the Bader-Meinhof recency phenomenon; my wife & I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel two nights ago, & yesterday & today you & AtomicShrimp have had Boy with Apple in your videos.
I first learned about continuity from the editor having to keep up with how far a cigarette had burned while a character held it and I thought, wow, how annoying that must be to have to keep track of.
Trying to find all the little things Thomas changes is so much fun
I have zero intentions of doing that: let's call Cinema Sins
Some of it is genuinely breaking my brain
In the shot where the things on hanging on his wall were missing, I noticed one of them was on his chair. I think that symbolizes the dichotomy of art
Aint nobody got time for that
It is kinda beautiful seeing him execute it and how those cuts don’t ruin the film; it cements the argument that abrupt editing cuts don’t ruin the continuity at all
People say Kubrick was a perfectionist, so all the continuity errors in his movies must be a hidden message or whatever. Kubrick wasn't that focused on continuity, he focused on the acting and cinematography. That's his perfectionism
Little things like this end up creating those false threads you can endlessly speculate too. I wonder how many theories on Kubrick might fall away if we just accepted that noticeable cuts in editing aren’t intentional messages or at the very least aren’t always a message.
Example:
since the books are all consistently placed in the background, he’s commenting on the documented history of cinema being the only truly important statement.
"People say." Let's name names: Rob Ager.
Dude literally thinks every prop and set in 2001 that has a right angle in it is part of a secret message. He treats media literacy like its the DaVinci code or National Treasure.
@@prosiescoteau2152 oh palease - Ager is as Ager does, but he is FAR from alone. People notice Calimet, which at least appears very deliberate, and then see the purposefully nonsensical setup of the hotel, and they think it gives them license to say ANYTHING is part of a message in The Shining. Its because they are ignorant about film, film technique and history. If they REALLY wanted to go back and watch all Kubrick films where he had enough control, and watch them over and over again, they could, but they never will. They instead pick a few flicks and watch various scenes over and over again trying to find meaning in even one blurry line.
Kubrick's films have variable continuity errors because he tended to overshoot and decide later in editing which one was best for the messages he wanted to tell - so, it naturally follows a wavering amount of errors. Unless the errors in a film follow some logic and have some consistency (or are overtly obvious), its best to just ignore them. But hey, some people need to sell UA-cam views, so... endless wondering about The Shining.
But also - Ager is a person who likes to plagiarize - he has a video saying that symbolically, the monolith in 2001 is a film screen turned 90 degrees - and its rather compelling lens overall. However, what he didn't say, at least not originally, was that this idea comes from someone else who posted about it online at least a decade ago (or it was written about more recently-ish, but the idea is from so-and-so in the 1970's - I forget which, i posted about under the video given it seemed like a ripoff after I double checked the idea - since, like, it would be odd for noone to come up with that in 50+ years).
To be fair, the Overlook Hotel being architecturally impossible might be intentional. And that theory comes from continuity errors in the hallways and such
@@MelchVagquestthe shining specifically having such a nutty ending and so many open to interpretation details that you can't really know where the paranormal layers of the hotel end is what's made it so enduring for theory crafting even after many decades, we'll never know for sure at this point what was intentional
Can’t wait for his next video “In praise of visible boom mics.”
bravo vince!
It lets you know that the movie was made and people worked on it
For real though this is a great video and Thelma is one of the GOATs of editing. Her style is so unmatched and influential.
Tom Nicholas (sort of) beat him to it! ua-cam.com/video/0arvnAlV_C4/v-deo.html
Kubrick’s Lolita. Name the scene?
As a script supervisor on sets, it is exactly my job to make sure these don’t happen while we film. But unfortunately I have no power in post-production, and even if the notes I write to the editor say that there’s an error in a take, the acting and pacing will always win over my continuity work! That’s life, and that’s film, it can’t be perfect all the time
Sounds like Script Supervisor and Film Editor are two of the most exacting and detail-oriented jobs on set/off set. Where would we be without you guys? :)
@@meganhartmann180 honestly it’s sad that nobody knows my job exists, we’re pretty far in the credits, so nobody from the public knows what we do, which is sad cause in the field it’s considered one of the hardest and most important role on a set. I wish the public knew more about our special and important job :)
Although it's important to acknowledge the effort of continuity and script supervision work that you guys put, I think we all can agree that we have seen enough films where the core idea of the film done right just overrides all continuity errors, conventional inconsistencies and production limitations. And then these imperfections just add to the fun.
@@rana1561 To be fair, continuity supervisor don't only make sure these types of errors occur, we also make sure the director has all the shots needed for editing, make sure the camera work makes sens for editing, sometimes rehearse with actors if there are no acting coaches on set, we're also the memory of the movie. So even if some of these continuity errors end up in the finished product, I really don't feel like my work wasn't useful, it's only a blast to see them and try to understand why they end up there!
@@bastiencheverry4027 oh absolutely, I agree that even when evaluating the consistency in the movie, different aspects have different priorities, as you mentioned, there are multiple aspects of supervision that can affect the film's experience more than the others. As a viewer, it's a great reminder, that just like oral tradition of storytelling, the inconsistencies are part of the fact that they are at the end of the day, a story, a recreation.
Excellent job maintaining one continuous voice throughout all of your scene changes. The objects in the background clearly changed, but your VO never felt disjointed. That is difficult to do and you executed it wonderfully!
yes that was seriously impressive! Makes me appreciate how much he must work to accomplish this in every video, and it is just more obvious in this one
ikr
I didn’t notice until about eleven minutes in. D’oh! 🤦♀️
The one at 3:26 was so mind-blowingly seamless in the audio, I had to rewind it several times to admire it, just to confirm there was actually a jump cut in the video!
@@BLiu1 Thanks for the tip! I missed that.
This was fun seeing you playing with non-continuity editing by literally altering your surrounding and even your own appearance as the video progressed. Another gem of a video.
This was enjoyable for me as well.
i enjoy how it started out as kind of subtle but then was made wildly obvious haha
In what universe was it fun?
the things you miss when its your second screen content. might have to rewatch this one
sounds like a discussion board response to peers in college lol
00:16 Hey, I saw that book disappear. Sneaky.
and the poster!
What are yall talking about, what disappeared 😮
@@damikadiri3730watch at the jump cut
and the sweater out of nowhere at 3:30 things are poping in and out of frame constantly, it's hilarious
Things changed constantly throughout this video, it was nearly non-stop.
My favorite use of purposeful continuity breaking is in the movie Snatch. It’s when Benicio Del Toro’s character is trying on different clothes while on the phone. Every time it would cut to the person on the other line and then cut back, he’d be wearing different clothes, as though he completely changed in half a second.
Ooh! Haven't watch Snatch since it came out. You've inspired me to do a re-watch, just to see that part again. :)
@@meganhartmann180 Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is another classic from Guy Ritchie. I go back and forth between which one I like best.
Booby, I probably know a lot you don’t …
Truly the best ever example. 10/10 movie as well ^
In the same movie, what stood out for me was when Turkish proceeds to explain to Tommy a wager involving the coursers set loose on the hare: he begins the explanation in a field, and yet seemingly waits until they’re back in the Rover some time later before finishing. Taken literally, and in real time, Tommy must’ve been thinking, “WTF has he stopped talking all of a sudden?”
As someone who works in film, I can tell you that these mistakes are seen, acknowledged, and addressed on set. However, we also know that the footage will be edited together by someone who hasn't been on set, and didn't get to hear all the discussion, so that he or she can edit the film based purely on emotional impact. So if a mistake slipped by in one take, they might opt for that instead of a later take where it's been corrected. Their decision.
Interesting take! I hadn't thought of that aspect of the process, in which an essentially "disinterested party" takes all the raw footage, watches it with a critical eye, and then makes objective editorial decisions to make the finished product. I had the opportunity to make a (very) short film, but in my case, the editor was also one of the actors. This was out necessity, because she was the one with the editing software and know-how. So, in retrospect, I wonder how the film might have turned out differently had we had a dedicated film editor who was not on-set. Hm!
@@meganhartmann180 Hm!
Fascinating
@@meganhartmann180 Yes. Super important. All editors tell me that they don't want to find out about all the drama on set. They just want to see that footage for what it is. Plenty of shots I've poured my soul into, that were later cut out because of pacing etc. No regrets!
@meganhartmann180 not totally though.
Editors will get sheets where the mistakes are written. And directors are in the editing room for a lot of stuff being made.
But it's kinda true: editor decides not to look at the sheets, and directors dont care about continuity a lot of timesx as they mostly watch for the acting
A similar argument in popular music is constantly beaten over our heads. The concept of "pitchiness" has been exacerbated to the point of railroading performances into autotuned blandness rather than celebrating the heartfelt emotion that variations from tonality evoke.
Excellent point. In the "era of Auto Tune," I think my brain has been trained to pick out more voice/pitch imperfections in earlier recording that I might not have ever noticed otherwise . Man is an imperfect creature, and we should revel in how well our art reflects that state of imperfection, while also praising its ability to help us ascend to a different plane of existence. (That said, every once in a while, I find a pitch imperfection that sets my teeth on edge. Maybe the audio engineer *could* have included a different take in those cases. Lol).
@@meganhartmann180 Western music is very rigid respecting tonality. Whereas, something may not be "out of tune" but rather, "microtonal." It's in the difference between off-key and microtonality where the magic happens. Shackling traditional blues to western conventions is where "plastic soul" was born. But, yeah, a sour note is always a sour note. I figure it works the same way with film editing. Sometimes, the Scripty just blows it. XD
I'm a complete nobody, but I often intentionally leave mistakes in my songs just to make them feel a bit more human
I think my favorite example of non-continuity editing is in The Social Network where they cut between depositions to connect different characters' accounts of events, even when they aren't in the room together to respond to each other directly. Another best editing Oscar there too!
I remember when I first noticed that cigar discontinuity from Goodfellas I thought “whoa, that doesn’t match up”, but then as I began to pay attention to the cuts in that scene more closely I started to notice that NOTHING was really quite matching up. It was usually a lot more subtle, but Paul Sorveno’s position almost never really matched from cut to cut, and as it went on it started to feel less like a “mistake” and more like a deliberate aesthetic choice, one that called into question the time frame of what we were watching. By the end of the scene, I’d come to see it not as a straight forward real-time chronicle of a complete conversation, but something more like a montage of selected moments from a much longer, rambling, repetitive conversation, boiled down to the essential core moments that just magically seemed to have the flow of a real-time conversation. So maybe I wasn’t exactly sure just what they were doing, but I’d definitely come to the conclusion that it was fascinating rather than just sloppy.
Yeah, this is how I've always felt about it too!
44
Exactly. The context of time allows us to perceive not a mistake but instead a more prolonged dialog to which we got the highlights.
Close. But no cigar.
Pffft. OMG, that was spot on. Well done, well done. *applause*
The one where Thomas games his audience into watching 250% of the playtime minutes to spot all his hidden details.
Well played, good sir, well played.
Imagine being an actor and delivering the most raw emotional line delivery of your career. Then the director is like “We gotta redo it, your left thumb was in the wrong position!!!”
That’s why there are so many continuity errors: *they do not matter*
I'd argue they do matter to some degree. Imagine being an actor and delivering your most raw line delivery of your career, and everybody gets distracted by a very obvious continuity error, that takes the viewers out of the scene.
If it's just the thumb, sure, it's probably not even going to get noticed. But even though acting and feel of the scene in general has a higher priority than continuity, they still have to weight every case on its own.
There is that continuity error at the end of the first Spiderman movie, where MJ's hand in the black glove changes repeatedly between being on Peter's cheek and not being on it. That immediately took me out of the emotional scene, and I remember it even got parodied somewhere (Superhero Movie I believe?)..
@@SmeagolTheGreat I agree. As a former military guy, I notice obvious flaws in military custom and culture. I'm sure cops, nurses, lawyers, and football players notice hiccups in their profession as well. It may only impact 1% of the viewing population but it's nevertheless distracting and destroys the immersion factor. I imagine continuity do that for many viewers.
Editor: How many continuity errors do you want?
Lars Von Trier: *Yes*
Ha ha ha ha
0:00 "Huh, his background isn't usually this visible."
5:00 "Wait..."
12:00 "THE PAINTING AND TAPESTRY WENT!"
13:00 "Is he going to talk about this...?"
15:00 "What else changed? The lighting, the background, did his clothes change, is is hair different, whaaaaat?"
17:00 "What's he been saying for the last three minutes?"
17:33 "Do I rewatch it just to notice all the different adjustments?"
Hey, wait a minute… wasn’t that thing just different a second ago?
Lemme go back
Oh my god. I thought I was going insane when you started to talk about the painting in the Wes Anderson shot, showing it briefly, and then cutting back to you speaking . . . and that very same painting was no longer on the wall behind you. ow my head
Yeah, that was tight. Also, up to that point, I hadn't even noticed that that *was* the same painting!
Most of these make me smile when I notice them.
So did this vid.
Love how you break open the language of the art by going back to its beginning. Great job.
14:29 phone on top of book disappears in bottome left corner
I absolutely adore all those little ‘continuity errors’ you’ve created. There’s something so cheeky about it. Makes me smile😁
Boy with Apple painting is perfect. Love Grand Budapest!
What painting? There's no painting! 13:19
My favourite both from Martin Scorsese: The Taxi Driver speech "you screwheads" where it cuts and begins again. and Shutter Island, the glass disappearing to symbolize Teddy's aversion to water (in the interrogation scene with the patients)
yeah taxi driver cut is iconic
In a lot of Asian Action Cinema, Fight Scenes are edited "noncontinously" to emphasize the impacts. cutting from right after the impact in a wide shot, to right before the impact on a closeup.
True! One of my fav things about watching Asian martial arts films is the creative cuts they make to emphasize the action for a remote audience.
I hate those cuts actually... Had to deal with a lot of then as a kid 😂
I always thought of them not as continuity errors but as an effect to highlight something specific and important in detail
That's not a matter of continuity, that's just repetition.
7:34 that break in lighting continuity got me good!
This video made me realize that Continuity Editing is just another style of filmmaking, as opposed to the "correct" way of making movies. In another vein, think about the art styles we saw with paintings. Once artists got so technically advanced that they could depict scenes with near photo accuracy, we saw new styles emerge like impressionsim, expressionism, abstractionism. Art was no longer about depicting true accuracy in a literal sense but instead about conveying feelings and emotions.
Indeed!! You make an excellent point. I guess one way of putting it is that, art is an interpretation of life. Do we depict the life and world around us just as we experience it moment-to-moment? Sometimes, but we don't have to. And, our lives are colored by always emotions and our subjective experiences and perceptions. And stranger still, there are even times in our everyday existence when there seem to be distortions and discontinuities in time and our sensual perceptions. Art can only imperfectly portray what is in the artist's mind, but the more "tricks" we have in our tool kit, the better.
The first time I really noticed this was someone complaining about Madonna's vocals on Oh Father - but if you listen to other song on Like A Prayer, she doesn't sound like that. I am of the opinion her voice is supposed to sound pushed, stressed, and all that - the song Like a Prayer doesn't have those issues, for example. I do wonder if today, if she were to have made that album, would that song have been processed up to sound cleaner like other songs on the album. There is a quote from Madonna about not overworking a song (or else it loses its eddgieness or energy, etc.) - but would she have thought that if born later?
those styles emerged because of the invention of photography and other technological developments. Doing something that photography couldn't was one of the main driving forces behind the impressionist movement. Your point still stands, though - it is another style of painting that focusses on capturing a perception rather than reality, like high renaissance painting (or photography)
The fact that you changed your poster is masterful lol
I also noticed his glasses. Great idea haha
I was not watching your video. Just listening while doing the dishes. And I noticed one of your Easter eggs and now I had to WATCH you video a second time. Great job. Super fun. You just got another sub:)
The film "The Father" is an excellent example of a film that uses "continuity errors" to convey an idea of what the main character, who has Alzheimer's, experiences during his life as the disease progresses.
Thomas Flight broke continuity with this video, and within the video itself 🤯
13:34! I see what you're doing!! Nice!
One conversation cut between numerous locations is a very common feature in heist movies. E.G. Ocean's Eleven... A plan explained to the crew in all the locations they'll use over the heist. You'll see it in Fantastic Mr Fox or indeed Spring Breakers
Yeah, I feel like Ocean's Eleven was very influential in future films that included a "heist/team - driven" plot. Does anyone know if Ocean's Eleven was the first to use that technique?
Editing my own Medium Lenght Film since quite a while now, about to get back to it again in a few minutes, this video definetly lifts the spirit and helps to focuss on the essentials again. I think everyone who has edited stuff knows how easy it can be to sometimes get lost in the process. Thanks for the Video Thomas
Yay for inspiration! :)
it's like a bigger version of "did you notice the gorilla playing basketball"
if the film is good, you're so wrapped up in the performance, etc that you don't notice something disjointed in the background
Good video! I've never minded continuity errors, they're a reminder you're watching work made by people which is what I have come to love most in films. Continuity errors, practical effects, stop-motion, expressionism, those are the things I love. The expression of people's creativity.
Loved this breakdown and the continuity errors in this vid. Some were subtle like paintings and positions of items others were obviously with lighting. Super well crafted
I'd been obsessed about this topic for so long now. In fact, it all started with one of the clips you put in the video (Wolf of Wall Street scene with one shot where we hear DiCaprio's character, but he is literally not moving his mouth in the shot thanks to brilliant editing). And I wanted to write about this because... what happens when in animation you have a 100% control over continuity? I'd been working for Animated movies and series for four years now (I know is not that much) and I'm totally convinced that the obsession on "continuity" in the industry is a huge, huge problem. And, in my not so humbre opinion, a give away to bad directors, bad leads, etc. Why is that? Some times, when you work on smaller European productions as I did, the schedule is tight and the quota (the amount of work we need to do fer day or week) is really high. So, why is continuity a big, huge problem? Because most of the directors, animation supervisors and leads give tons and tons of feedback on continuity. We, animators, spend too much time nailing the continuity from shot to shot way too much, putting our time and attention into nailing the exact degree of rotation for the arm from shot to shot, so we spend most of our limited resources into this technical manners, and not into improving acting, posing or composition. As you pointed out, master filmmakers had issues with continuity constantly in our favourite movies in other to edit the best shots, acting and story while we are spending 40% of our retake quota in micro-adjustments in the head tilt of a character out of focus... I don't know, I hope this sparks new thoughts about this topic to you.
What do you think an animated film with continuity errors look like, do you suppose?? Now there's an interesting proposition. And, perhaps a really cool film will come out of it .... anyone? :)
@@meganhartmann180 Austin: well, it depends what the errors are! There are already plenty of animated movies out there with continuity errors, even though they are tried to be minimized. I would say the biggest effect a break in continuity has is on attention. The preservation of continuity is (as a part of life, but also in media, traditionally) expected, so a sudden break in continuity is something unexpected, and it draws your attention to that thing, if noticed. A big break in continuity can draw your attention away from the rest of the story for a bit, if used intentionally it can cause a strong "wtf" moment, and many consecutive breaks in continuity can cause a disorienting, overwhelming, or dreamlike quality.
Another aspect of animation, related to continuity and also arguably over-enforced is designs being "on-model", a character being off model can similarly be distracting, but can be used to great effect as well for things like expression and emphasis. An extreme example of both of these conventions being all but thrown out the window is many-animator projects, where the scenes are usually made with little to no direction or coordination, and often cut between wildly different styles and compositions very quickly. It's a tried and true showcase of how these principles are not absolutely needed to follow or enjoy animation (though these projects being based on pre-existing media helps, and the focus is usually more on the animation itself and the animators than the story per se). They're often overwhelming and distracting but also very engaging and interesting, we wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more of a middle ground in terms of continuity and models in more professional animation in the coming years.
@@meganhartmann180 Continuity errors in animation can come about in a number of different ways. Consecutive shots animated by separate people, animated by the same person but with a lot of time between working on them, some form of misunderstanding or miscommunication, or simple mistakes.
When the schedule is extra tight, miscommunications and different people working on shots is particularly common.
Some of the better-managed productions will, when found during test screenings, will usually make it more a matter of "how can we make it less noticeable" than of fixing it entirely.
It looks like you had a lot of fun putting this one together! Thank you for your insights.
I love my algorithm. Before this, I just watched a video about David Fincher filming 100+ takes sometimes. A lot of the time for contiinuity's sake. This was a great video, by the way, Thomas!
I love how you included matching continuity errors in your own edit. It's always fun to see a video essay incorporate the same techniques it's discussing.
Also, since you started the video talking about Scorsese's films, I was surprised you didn't mention Shutter Island when you were giving examples of intentional continuity errors. There are so many scattered throughout the film, making you question the reality of Leo's character, like when the lady grabs the cup to take a sip of water, only for the cup to disappear from her hands in the next shot.
I like how the thumbnail changes so fast it almost feels like watching a film
7:32 nice touch by turning off the light off your face to emphasize the continuity example. Also the painting behind you on the wall disappeared from 5:58 to 6:28 and then changing into another painting/print on another cut.
I feel like the constant hunt to find fault in film, music, art, (and even people) etc puts undue pressure on artists to be perfect, hence sucking the heart and soul out of said film, music, art, etc. There is still soulful art in modern times, but it seems like there is a lot more soul-less art than there used to be, and I blame this on needless scrutiny. On the topic of continuity errors, I think the Mark Twain quote "Never let the truth get in the way of way of a good story" can be at least loosely applied.
Yep, smart man that Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens).
Just wait until AI gets deeply involved. Talk about soul-sucking.
Another excellent and thoughtful video Thomas, and thank you for elaborating on continuity in terms of time and space. I find it so dull when people think its all about noticing a hot dog changed to a hamburger from one shot to the next shot! As a script supervisor myself, I don't notice continuity errors if the editing is skillfully and I'm truly engaged in the story (eyelines is another story.....). However, no discussion on Scorsese and continuity would be complete without acknowledging Martha Pinson - his long time script supervisor. She tracked the continuity, the dialogue, the blocking, the camera angles, the shot developments, the scene evolution, the adlibs, the improvs, the changes, the adjustments, the corrections, and the alternates so that all the options are available to Thelma Schoonmaker in the editing room. Amidst the creativity and often chaos, there does need to be a rock that everyone can rely on! More on Martha's craft: ua-cam.com/video/NAvn7CNpdB8/v-deo.html
3:05 Because its easier to leave it than to have everyone reshoot the scene
Oooh, that that window change in 1:18 is hilarious, hadn't noticed. But with Wes I also feel like his movies are stories told in very subjective ways. They feel to me like someone tells you a story, and that's how someone, perhaps a child, would visualise the story told in their mind - the stories themselves are much about the what, while the how (the storytelling) is sometimes refreshingly fantastical :) I think that's what it often is when a person (especially a child-like person) is told a story in words and then pictures what that would have looked like...
Took me almost 12 minutes to realize Thomas was constantly changing the continuity of his surrounding...I guess that proofes a point.
He even intercuts different phases of beard growth! For goodness sake, this man is brilliant. Going the extra mile here, what a guy
I really like your style. Your voice and pace is on point. Professional. So many videos now are just rushed with silly jokes and stupid pop culture images. The only continuity error I noticed before this video was the boat in Apocalypse Now. I've seen almost all the films and missed the others.
I'm surprised Guy Maddin wasn't mentioned. He's a modern master of disregarding continuity in favour of creating a dreamlike scenario where anything is possible.
I believe he said he's trying to recapture that childlike wonder he had when watching films for the first time.
I always thought unaligned continuity takes was just showing different POVs of moments in time during a scene. I never really looked at most of these examples as accidents! I loved learning the meaning behind them now!
7:03 I see what you did there :)
Wow i saw that too perfect example
I love the way he included constant continuity errors to help support his message by showing how some easy it is to miss or how inconsequential these errors are or how having non-continuity editing can be used to further control the feelings being evoked by a film
As long as it doesn't break immersion... cause if it does, then bad continuity also negatively impacts emotion. It's a fine line.
Great analysis! I really appreciate how you show while you're telling. I also appreciate your validation--I rearrange my room and change my look all the time and I don't think it makes me a bad continuist.
Hey Thomas, long time viewer of the channel. I just want to say that I REALLY appreciate the kind of videos you create on the chanel. I just finished my undergraduate degree in Film & Media at Berkeley which was all film theory and history rather than production based. I want to be a director and so at first I was a little apprehensive about going to a non production school, but over time I came to realize that although my degree is not practically useful, it has changed the way I look at and make movies and will continue to inform me as I progress. I also realized its easier to teach yourself how to make your own films, just go out and shoot them + the countless youtube channels dedicated to learning technical skills, but information like the ones you have in your videos are much harder to come by for non scholars. I think these types of information are VITAL to make good films, so I really appreciate your videos making these topics not only more accessible, but also just so damn appealing to people who may not have a nerdy degree in film theory! (also selfishly your videos have really kept me inspired to keep studying film history and theory!) Also your use of both more popular and obscure films as examples is amazing, your curration is top notch. All of that yapping to say, THANK YOU THOMAS! KEEP DOING YOU!
13:47 I did get distracted. I loved how as you said keywords and set an example in your own video. Great work!
Kubrick had intentional continuity errors in The Shining to emphasize the surrealness (is that a word?) of what was going on, and/or to get the view too question what was real.
Keep looking but I could not see the boat brake 0:23
The canopy collapses.
I love your continuity around the 3 minute mark with the book especially. Every scene with you speaking was you moving and cutting. Good edited video.
boy with apple is gone!!
Awesome video. When you have someone who knows the art of the cut explain editing, it becomes clear how integral it is to communication.
Really appreciate the effort to craft such a well presented essay.
wait it's been a while since I've seen Pulp Fiction but actually does that explain the "miracle"??? Maybe the characters didn't notice the existing bulletholes which led him to believe in the miracle.
This was a much needed video. I do have one thing to add: use of intentional continuity errors for purposes of humor. Two examples would be the running knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (impossible to miss) and Kip making nachos in Napoleon Dynamite (one you're unlikely to catch on first viewing).
I had to check he didn’t change his shirt
I loved this video a LOT but I truly love the space you sit in. It is delightful and cozy.
I always thought the existing bullet holes in Pulp Fiction were intentional. With Jules thinking an act of God saved him. While in reality, this shit hole of an appartement already had the holes and the guy charging in mistakenly used a gun filled with blanks. Or at least: Tarantino making it intentionally ambiguous whether this is an 'filmmaking error' or the holes were actually already there in the story.
Alternatively, perhaps the bullet holes were there because this isn't the first time that guy's fired a gun in his apartment, which would be pretty believable.
the harvester scene in pt.1 is my favorite continuity 'error'; such an impactful, purposefully jarring break that forces you to snap out of the trance alongside Paul. it's so well done
This was a cool peek into the style and art of keeping/making continuity "errors" in film. When I first encountered the work of Eisenstein in college, I was floored at how "modern" his films looked, despite the differences in technology between his time and ours. The man was a master in the use of dis-continuity to create a more potent narrative. And, I am really intrigued about Ziga Vertov's "Man with a Camera"!! The way you describe it sounds very much like Koyaanisqatsi, in which Godfrey Reggio explores an American "life out of balance" through a series of film pieces depicting natural and urban landscapes, sometimes even shown in reverse. That sort of film making, although harder for an audience to grasp and make sense of, often has the highest potential of depicting "big stories" which a singular narrative about a small group of people just can't. -- Also, on a more personal/meta note, I love your studio backdrop! You obviously chose every object and prop with intention, and it was amusing to see the way you incorporated the subject of the video subtly by moving and changing the backdrop. Well done!!
i like the self aware you did with demonstrating the continuity error in the background. like the picture changing.
I loved how you kept changing your frame, outfit and environment/background throughout the entire video.
I was watching The Terminator on Amazon and almost every scene has a continuity error and I had no idea until they were pointed out by the X-Ray feature.
Darren Aronofsky is a master of this. The "drug taking" sequence of quick shots in Requim for a Dream; Pi also has them to great effect. Baraka also comes to mind, and I want to say Discreet Charm of the Bourgouse but it's been a minute. Love the continuity "errors" in the video itself too. This is a gem (with my minor edits added so I'm quoting you but with continity "errors" in my quote): "Look for connection between shots and scenes not just spatially and temporally, but rhythmically, emotionally, and thematically."
Fantastic video. I had great fun trying to spot all the changes you did, and it's a really clever way to drive home your point.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us all!
Wow, I never thought of continuity "error" as anything else than errors. You really opened up my eyes on what continuity really is and how it relate to the vision of the film maker or just the art itself. Thank you!
Love your background and editing on topic choices…. It’s very appreciated.
6:06 OMG thank you for explaining that. I often notice breaks of continuity in Wes Anderson movies and got so confused about them
What an absolutely fantastic video. I will forever remember the continuity error in the movie Captain Ron.
It's fascinating to hear this discussion of something I think about and deal with all the time, as a musician: the tension between authenticity of performance, and technical perfection.
The videos where you imitate/implement the subject matter (often without saying so explicitly) are so much fun to watch.
you just changed my whole perspective on continuity. Great stuff as always! I always make time to watch new videos.
Love the disjuncture of the sponsor ad presumably cut in to have as little disruption of the emotion of this enlightening essay.
and love the other non continuity thrown in and then finally highlighted
This video is so excellent that I can't begrudge you inserting your own (doubtless fine) film in there amongst the immortals :) Bravo
This is my first video of yours that I’ve seen, but I just have to say mad respect for having “Boy With Apple” up. Grand Budapest is one of my all time favorite films
So many jump cuts in this video itself! It must be a treat to try out so many different styles of shooting a video with all that knowledge!
Seeing you without glasses right after a shot with you wearing them kinda jumpscared me xD
Great Video!! So many details! Brilliant how you visibly show continuity breaks in your shots and it made me smile and appreciate your extra effort!
loved this vid and the changes to your background lol. first non-continuity edits that immediately came into mind for me were the nuclear bomb edits Nolan had in Oppenheimer (2024), with quick jumps in succession from Oppys face to an abstract visual (sort of like your experimental footage)
I loved that how the examples of the cut technics, also effecting your parts too... lol great job
Your set, lighting and clothes changed a million times, perfect explanation!! 😂😂
i knew that painting would change,
i could feel it in my core.
I chuckled at you moving Boy With Apple from the wall as you were talking about Boy With Apple
In math you have continuous variables, and discrete ones, so it makes sense to discuss continuity from the perspective the possible metric of a space, as for instance we are all familiar with discrete time, as just a time interval.
In the case of the cigar scene, who is to say, that the person smoked their smoke, put down their cigar and then just happened to say the words, but the movie, rather than capturing that pause, juxtaposed the dialogue. It's all about how congruently you can fit the metric to viewer expectation, while having the movie as medium.
I hope you had fun making this video. It looks like you did. Thanks for another great one!
I'm just through editing my first feature. I really had to learn to stomach continuity errors, but I'm very glad I did. Too many headaches over shit people won't notice.
Wow I always loved the wolf of Wall Street lunch scene, but couldn’t help notice the continuity errors between shots, and I feel like no one has ever addressed it or cares, so I’m super stoked about this video!
Side note about the Bader-Meinhof recency phenomenon; my wife & I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel two nights ago, & yesterday & today you & AtomicShrimp have had Boy with Apple in your videos.
This may sound like a minor thing, but I truly think you have the best lit and shot videos on UA-cam.
I always notice cigarettes being different amounts of smoked between cuts. Wish i had those regenerative cigs
Excellent video! I am constantly finding continuity issues all the time. I enjoy finding them but they don't bother me enough to ruin the content.
I first learned about continuity from the editor having to keep up with how far a cigarette had burned while a character held it and I thought, wow, how annoying that must be to have to keep track of.
11:55 ohh you sneaky sneaky