Continuity And Its Importance In The TV/Film Industry

Continuity refers to the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over time.

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In the majority of film and TV productions, the scenes are shot out of sequence. This can be for a variety of reasons:

• Access to locations
• Availability of certain actors
• Weather conditions

What this means is that you could be working on the last shot of the film with actors continuing a scene that was shot a year before. (In fact, it is quite normal for a film to be completed and then scenes to be re-shot unexpectedly when the producer decides this is required.)

Typical Continuity Issues

Crew members - including the make-up department - may be working on other productions by then, so new people are often hired to film these pick-up shots. When the film is played back, it is essential to take notes on the continuity. Actors must be dressed the same, have the same skin tones, wear their hair at the same length, and have the same make-up. If this is not the case, the result will be sadly noticeable when the film is edited.

Should a producer of a TV soap series decide to do some pick-up shots of close-ups of actors shot four months before, for instance, the make-up artist has a number of continuity problems to solve:

• Matching the clothes when many costumes may have been hired and returned to the hire company
• Matching hair. Various hair pieces may have to be tracked down from hire companies or wig makers - or recreated
• Matching make-up. Foundation, lipstick, eyeshadow, and blusher may have been used up or simply lost
• Whilst such scenarios may be stressful, they are an accepted part of the job. In feature films, there is a script supervisor> who deals with the general continuity issues of filming. This includes film stock, camera lenses, and dialogue changes.

Taking Photos And Notes

It is still up to the individual departments to work out their own continuity, either by taking photos of all the main actors - front, back, and profile views - as well as extensive notes. All changes to hairstyles, costume, and make-up should be logged with a scene number and day number of the film sequence.

To make life easier, a make-up artist will keep a hairstyle the same shape. When the action of the filming calls for the hair to be wet or untidy, photos must be taken. The action may take place in a rain storm exterior which might gave to match up to the actor walking into an interior with wet hair. The interior scene might actually be shot in the studio months later and must match up to the exterior shot.

Make-up and hair artists often have to apply beards and moustaches to match an actor’s natural facial hair which he subsequently shaved away, or supply a wig because the actress has had her hair cut short.

Website Reference:

http://www.delamaracademy.co.uk/the-make-up-artist/film-tv-make-up/makeup-continuity