180 degree rule
The 180 degree rule is a basic rule that says two or more people in one scene must have the same right-left relationship to each other. In other words, the camera cannot jump to the other side of the characters without showing the movement. If the camera moves over this imaginary axis, it is known as ‘crossing the line’.
Match on action
Match on action is a component of seamless editing where a point of action (like handing an object to someone) is shot at different angles and cut at the point of action creating a match. During match on action, you must also ensure that the eye-lines of the characters match.
In my preliminary exercise, I recorded Rumbi walking down the corridor and then cut. I zoomed into her holding the door handle and continued recording her walk in to the classroom. This was match on action as it looked like I used two cameras but in reality I used one.
Once Rumbi entered the room, I recorded a two shot of her with Awo. I then zoomed in to a medium close up of Awo, she passes an object to Rumbi, I cut there and without moving across the imaginary axis, I record Rumbi receiving the object. Awo stays on the right side of the camera and Rumbi stays on the left. This again is match on action without breaking the 180 degree rule.
