Establishing continuity when shooting

Conventional continuity depends on both shooting and editing. When shooting a director needs to consider a couple of 'rules' of continuity.

30 degree rule

The 30 degree rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees between shots of the same subject. This change of perspective makes the shots different enough to avoid a jump cut.

180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is another basic film editing guideline that states that two charters in the same scene should always have been the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the 'imaginary' axis (line) connecting the two subjects, its called crossing line.