Explain what “cutting to continuity” means, and give an example of how it might be used in a film

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Continuity cutting tries to preserve the fluidity of an event without literally showing all of it. Cutting to continuity condenses the action into a few brief shots, each of which leads by association to the next.
2. To keep the action logical and continuous, there must be no confusing breaks in an edited sequence of this sort. Often, all the movement is carried out in the same direction on the screen to avoid confusion.
3. For example, a continuous shot of a woman leaving work and going home might take forty-five minutes. Cutting to continuity condenses the action into a few brief shots, each of which leads by association to the next: (1) she enters a corridor as she closes the door to her office; (2) she leaves the office building; (3) she enters and starts her car; (4) she drives her car along a highway; and (5) her car turns into her driveway at home. The entire forty-five-minute action might take just ten seconds of screen time, yet nothing essential is left out. It’s an unobtrusive condensation.
4. If the woman moves from right to left in one shot and her movements are from left to right in the other shots, we might think that she is returning to her office. Cause–effect relationships must be clearly set forth. If the woman slams on her brakes, the director is generally obliged to offer us a shot of what prompted the driver to stop so suddenly.
5. The continuity of actual space and time is fragmented as smoothly as possible in this type of editing. Unless the audience has a clear sense of a continuous action, an editing transition can be disorienting.