Read through the end-credits of any blockbuster movie and you’ll see hundreds… sometimes even thousands of names roll by. Everyone from the top tier directors, producers and actors to the truck drivers and craft services get their name on the big screen.
But do you know the film crew member(s) among these names who is responsible for guaranteeing that everything in a scene was in the exact location and laid out in the same manner take after take, even if the shooting schedule covered days or weeks at a time?
The responsible film crew member is the Script Supervisor, also known as the continuity person.
The Script Supervisor keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed and makes notes of any deviations between what was actually filmed and what appeared in the script. They make notes on every shot, and keep track of props, blocking, and other details to ensure continuity from shot to shot and scene to scene. The Script Supervisor’s notes are given to the Editor to expedite the editing process. The Script Supervisor works very closely with the Director on set.
Keeping continuity straight can be difficult. Consider that the crew might shoot an outdoor winter scene for a Christmas movie in the spring, then they discover that they need to go back for some pickup shots in the fall, long after the movie has wrapped. Not only does the fake snow need to look real, it needs to fall with the same consistency as the fake snow in the scenes shot months earlier, and all the props around the scene need to lie in the same way. It’s nearly impossible and directors and editors will often use cutaway tricks to mask the break in continuity.
Even with all the diligent efforts of the Script Supervisor, all the hundreds of photographs of a scene and thousands of notes on detail, light placement, actor marks, etc., accidents still happen.
Are you curious as to what these mistakes are ?
But of course you are.
Have you personally noticed mistakes in movies?
Probably.
Well, there is a website devoted to these “accidents” www.moviemistakes.com where you can see the continuity mistakes from all of your favorite movies.