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Ask Slashdot: Maintaining Continuity In Your Creative Works?
imac.usr writes: I recently rewatched the Stonecutters episode of The Simpsons and laughed as always at the scene where Homer pulls into his parking space — right next to his house. It's such a great little comic moment. This time, though, it occurred to me that someone probably wrote in to complain that the power plant was normally in a completely different part of town, no doubt adding "I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder." And that got me to wondering: how do creators of serial media — books, web comics, TV shows, even movie serials — record their various continuities? Is there a story bible with the information, or a database of people/places/things, or even something scribbled on a 3x5 card. I know Slashdot is full of artists who must deal with this issue on a regular basis, so I'd be interested in hearing any perspectives on how (or even if) you manage it.
In film, there's a person who's entire job is making sure that there is continuity from scene to scene (and from titles to credits). Sometimes they're called "continuity supervisor" but that's becoming less common. Usually, they're known as "script supervisor".
So if a character is wearing a hoodie zipped with the hood up in the closeup, the script supervisor makes sure that in the long shot of the character walking away he still has his hoodie zipped with the hood up. Since almost all movies are shot out of sequence, this becomes very important, and the script supervisor has to note all props, so if there's a glass filled 3/4 on a table where two characters are dining, the glass is still 3/4 full in the reaction shot, even though the reaction shot might be shot weeks or months later. Along with the lighting director, they match shadows and along with the costume director, match clothing.
If you ever want to see what a movie looks like when there is no script supervisor (or the script supervisor is stoned), watch Plan 9 From Outer Space by the great Ed Wood. Errors in continuity cause a very disorienting experience for the viewer. It's a fun movie, especially when you see a car pull up in a graveyard in broad daylight and then there's a cut to people exiting the car and it's the middle of the night. You probably have already heard the stories. Bela Lugosi died during filming, so they shot some scenes with someone who was several inches taller and years younger, except he held his cape in front of his face, Dracula style.
Some film makers have used continuity breaks to great effect. For example, the 1940s art film "Meshes of the Afternoon" by Maya Deren is hallucinogenic in its continuity breaks. This film has influenced generations of filmmakers, including current guys like Darren Aronofsky, David Lynch and even more mainstream filmmakers. Also, a generation of Japanese horror directors pay tribute to Maya Deren and her shocking breaks from continuity.
Here, go watch Meshes of the Afternoon right now and see what I mean. It's only like 10 minutes long, so relax a bit and watch the whole thing. It's very trippy. The music is also very very good.
https://youtu.be/YSY0TA-ttMA
You are welcome on my lawn.
Write according to the list of existing rules, and choose to break them strategically.
Something the Simpsons does a lot. They frequently break continuity on purpose, just to stick it to fans who pay too much attention. For example having a door that both goes the the basement and is a closet, or moving the where the door to the basement is, to make it impossible to make an accurate map of the house. Some of the same writers on the other hand spent a lot of time making sure the stars go by in the right direction on the ship in Futurama, as they were trying to make the layout of the ship there a little more sensible, most of the time.