Index IntroductionThe rules of continuity editingViolations of discontinuity in film continuityWorks CitedIntroductionThere are some studies that dispute the importance of continuity editing rules in understanding film, presenting a debate on continuity vs. discontinuity. Instead, they suggest that editing errors and discontinuities do not hinder or disorient the viewer's attention and the most important aspect for understanding the plot is narrative coherence. The focus is mainly on understanding the succession of events, rather than on perceptual inconsistencies (Germeys & d'Ydewalle 129). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Rules of Continuity Editing Regarding the aforementioned continuity editing techniques, Berliner and Cohen state that if a director wants to convey their narrative flawlessly on behalf of the viewer, they must “obey” the rules of classical continuity editing. Continuity as a technical and aesthetic choice is therefore considered, by many theorists and filmmakers, a natural necessity. But, in truth, these are just rules of thumb. The test to establish whether a piece of cinematic sequence is successful is whether it works or not, whether it communicates or not, whether the audience can follow it or not, whether or not it achieves the effect intended by the creator of the image. For every supposed rule of cinema, cinematographically distinct counterexamples can be found. In the book 'Eye Guidance in Reading and Scene Perception', Géry d'Ydewalle highlights three categories of editing rules and their respective editing violations (129). Discontinuity Violations in Film Continuity First-order violations refer to certain camera moves or changes to image size that interrupt the smooth flow between shots (for example, jump cuts). Jump cuts are produced by an elliptical cut between two shots that appears to be a break from a single shot due to the camera position varying slightly. Instant changes in the background or figures in the same scene between two shots or changes in the image size of shots give the impression of jumping and disturbs the smooth flow from one shot to the next. Skipped cuts are usually avoided in continuity editing because they draw attention to the structure of the film (i.e. editing and cuts) hindering viewers' attention on the narrative. However, Jean-Luc Godard uses jump cuts in numerous films, including Breathless, where they function as a kind of expressive punctuation, signaling the improvisational nature of the film and its director. Viewers interpret these changes not as tears in the fabric of the universe, but as signs of aural exuberance. The jump cuts are perfectly understandable to viewers, who interpret them as the author's fingerprints. Nor is the jump cut simply the gesture of a single moment in the making of a film. The use of jump cuts for expressive purposes appears in contemporary films such as Ridley Scott's Matchstick Man (Carrol 30). Second-order violation refers to a violation of the 180-degree rule by ignoring the action axis of the location (e.g., reverse-angle shots) and preventing viewers from creating a spatio-cognitive schema of the scene. According to the 180 degree rule, when filming a scene an imaginary line called the action axis is drawn through the center of the scene or between the two main elements of the scene (for example in a conversation between two characters). The cameras,..