Why Animators Must View Shots in Continuity

Jerich0 - excellent shot continuity

Animators working on short film projects can easily get tunnel vision - just focusing on their own shot. The cure for this is always to cut your scene into the main edit, and then view the shot in continuity.  This way, you get a feel for how the shot plays in relation to the other shots in the film.

Animators are commonly assigned to work on single shots on a project, which means there will be another shot, animated by another animator, on either side of theirs.

These shots must play together in continuity, meaning that there must be a smooth flow from one to another. The character's pose at the end of Shot 1 should be the same pose in Shot 2, or else the shots won't "hook up".

Storyboarding and 3D Layout

The main responsibility for shot continuity lies with the storyboard dept, and later the 3D layout dept, whose shot planning gets handed over the animation dept for animation.  But animators must take responsibility for making sure that their shots connect up with those on either side.

Animators have to concentrate hard for long periods on a single shot, and often we get lost in the detail of what we are doing, losing sight of the big picture. In this case the big picture is the film itself - which is much more important than any individual shot. Sometimes, as animators, we can't see the wood for the trees.

Shot continuity in Jerich0
Take a look at the two shots from the short film Jerich0 above. Shot 1 is a wide shot, and it cuts directly to shot 2, a medium shot of the same lizard. Note that the lizard is in the exact same pose in both shots. The animators have collaborated to make sure that the pose is the same in both shots. They have checked their hook-ups, to maintain visual consistency.

Film-making Resources
For more information and resources on the making of animated short films, follow the links below:

• How to pitch your film idea
• Why Animators Need Mood Boards
• Why Animators Need Colour Scripts
• Managing Group Projects
• Why Animators Must Wreck Their Rigs
• Why Animators Need an Animatic
• What an Animation Editor Does, exactly
• Why Animators Must Check Their Hookups
• How to Record Voice-Overs
• What are CBBs? (Could be Better)
• Colour Grading your film
• Thanks and Special Thanks - Getting film credits right
• How to Create the Perfect One-Sheet Movie Poster (and why you need one)
• Getting Yourself (and your film) Listed at IMDB

To find out more about Animation Apprentice, click here for a link to Frequently Asked Questions. To sign up for our next classroom at Animation Apprentice, follow this link.