The Snapshot - Continuity by Oliver Briggs

22nd April - Second Day on Set, Continuity Focus

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:27:16 UTC

Taking photos was especially important on this day as there was a wide variety of props included from a clip board to a stethoscope. Ensuring these remained in the same places despite the multiple shots would be vital in ensuring a smooth edit.

Log Sheet

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:41:59 UTC

Once I had finished performing as Lily, I also started work updated our continuity log sheet which kept reference of which takes could be used.

18th April - Car Continuity

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:47:38 UTC

I liaised with my continuity partners who were on the first day of shooting to ensure all correct takes had been used as well as photos of Grace to match her appearance in following scenes.

23rd April - Bolton Town Hall

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:53:50 UTC

Leaving at 8:30 am from Tramways, we arrived at Bolton town hall and began taking equipment up into the greenroom as usual. We also filmed Grace approaching the building - the continuity here was important with her hair needed to be the same which was difficult due to the weather conditions but we succeeded.

Noah's Elvis Costume

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:56:16 UTC

We had lunch midway through shooting scene 19 which meant Robyn playing Elvis was going to change as they didn't fancy walking through town as the King of Rock. We took focus on their wig and sunglasses especially to ensure when they changed back everything would be the same as previously shot.

Log Sheet Updated

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 15:59:51 UTC

The initial log sheeted started to need expanding which made things difficult to follow. This was because we were shooting more than original planned so a combination of immediate notes as well as frequent updates to the sheet where recorded.

Continuity Notes

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:07:14 UTC

When we diverted from the log sheet we would make immediate notes for ourselves to then feedback to the wider group and update the sheet later.

Continuity Role Overall

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:09:39 UTC

Personally I didn't enjoy this role as I felt like I didn't have much to do when everyone else was so busy on set. I appreciate it's one of the most important roles and I believe we have done well at ensuring all the props and costumes remain consistent. I think the crew found continuity's role potentially confusing too as it would often look like we were not doing anything to those with busier roles and there would be frequent calls for us to write down which shot was best despite us already having made those notes amongst ourselves along with set photos taken. In sets with tight spaces and lots of this crew this became more evident - better communication between the whole crew would have prevented this awkwardness. Coming from the performer role which was very visibly active to the continuity role was difficult as I felt people thought I wasn't putting in effort, when I already completing all the tasks of my job. Whilst I'm glad there were several people tasked with continuity, if it was sole person the role's responsibility might have been easier to have been seen by the rest of the crew.

Eyes On Elvis

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:13:31 UTC

It was really enjoyable watching each scene come together - I filmed Robyn on my phone doing several takes to ensure they acted in the same way each time. They initially grabbed the camera with their left hand and later changed to their right - luckily we caught this before it made the edit thanks to our phone recording.

Grace's interview

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:17:06 UTC

In this scene a camera prop is placed on the middle of the table. I'm worried it may move around in each shot as we were unable to mark its placement without the camera picking it up. When we raised our concern we were told by the camera team that it looks the same so I have faith in the final product this movement will be unnoticeable.

24th April - Bolton Town Hall

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:30:04 UTC

The Senior Agents table had a lot of props that we had to make sure remain consistent. Fortunately only the folder would be moved throughout the scene but these initial photos helped keep everything in order.

Props visibility on camera

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:30:46 UTC

Agent Costume Continuity

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:37:02 UTC

It was also important to ensure the Agents who had been in on other filming days matched up to their previous scenes, with gelled back hair and pale makeup.

25th April - Day Off/Continuity Photo Prep

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:38:46 UTC

Whilst it was my day off and I really appreciated the rest, I was glad to have liaised with the continuity team on the photos for Grace's house so that the final day of shooting could run smoothy.

26th April - Warrington, Grace's House

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:44:56 UTC

Grace's house had been excellently dressed by the set team and so there was lots of props to watch out for. In particularly Grace takes out the red water bottle from the fridge which would be clearly seen from the camera inside. We kept this on the sofa for the duration of the shoot in order to keep the continuity.

Concerning Pillows

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:49:04 UTC

As the only continuity person on set on Friday, I was concerned over the set being moved over night. I wasn't provided with photos of the table from the previous day but after speaking to the director - it was a different day within the film so it's implied Grace had tidied up over night. This is also in reference to the magazine's on the table.

Scene 15 and the dreamcatcher

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:52:58 UTC

This scene went really smoothly with Grace reacting to the video of herself on the computer. There was some debate over the dreamcatcher present which was in shot the previous day in the house's corridor. However it was decided it wasn't visible clearly and could have been moved by Grace so would be okay to still have within this scene.

That's A Wrap

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 16:53:57 UTC

We did it!

16th April - Rehearsals

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:00:20 UTC

The second day of rehearsals was really useful not just for the actors but also to make notes on key continuity points - like Grace's bag. In the previous sessions, I had been assisting other pre-production roles as continuity wasn't able to start properly until we began shooting but I felt very useful on this day as we tested different shots for each scene.

Props on Camera

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:02:06 UTC

A 2nd shot with the note and bag consistent from the previous.

26th February - Preproduction Begins

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:05:39 UTC

I was really excited to see what the continuity role entailed although found preproduction to be quite slow week to week as there wasn't much for continuity to do until we had started filming.

4th March - Continuity Script

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:07:45 UTC

We began marking up in the script where props and heavy would feature which would require a more cautious eye - in particular Noah's Elvis costume and Lily's poses.

19th April - First Day on Set | Lily's Poses

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:10:10 UTC

My character had several poses devised by myself for her modelling which were important to keep memory of throughout the scene so that the edit would run smoothly.

Overall Tracking Sheet Continuity

briggsoliverob — 2024-05-02 17:19:19 UTC

All of the crew on continuity updated this document throughout the week.