BLK - Analysis of continuity

The scene begins with Amy and Rory hugging after the revelation from the Doctor. River comes up to them from the right and addresses Amy. The scene cuts to a 3 shot of Amy and Rory with River's back facing the audience, which cuts to a close up of River's face (capturing her expressions) with Amy's hair in the background. The scene then cuts between them several times. Many of the cuts are bridged by audio, which helps the continuity, so that the audience understands that what's happening is one continuous narrative.

The scene then pans behind River's head to follow Amy going to the Doctor. It then cuts to a midshot of her walking, which matches the action from the previous shot, further adding to the continuity. The midshot continues until the back of the Doctor's head appears. It then cuts to a close up of the Doctor smiling tiredly with Amy's arm on the left, which helps the audience understand that they're still in the same place. The scene cuts between the two, with sound bridges. As the scene is in real time, the cuts help add to the pacing of the scene.

The scene then whites out to a flashback of the Doctor and Amy next to the Pandorica. The fade lets the audience know that the narrative has changed. The scene cuts between Amy and the Doctor several times, still with sound bridges. It then whites out back to the tired Doctor in the Pandorica. The scene continues on for a couple of minutes more. The constant cuts between the Doctor and Amy help to keep what would be a boring scene more lively and active. At the end of the conversation, the screen shakes and Amy is lit up with a bright glow, as River calls from off screen on the left. As the sound is coming from the left, it conforms with the fact that Amy came from the left earlier on in the scene. Amy brings up the Sonic Screwdriver and gives it a little buzz before the scene cuts to her inserting it into the Doctor's inner jacket pocket.

After a few more words, Amy steps back and the scene cuts to the Doctor's last words from a mid shot. It cuts back to Amy from the front, illuminated by the light. The Pandorica closes and the scene then cuts to Rory and River, who are standing off to the side, which then cuts to a close up of Amy's face as she steps back. River calls for her to get back and the scene cuts to a long shot of the Pandorica rising up as River shoves Amy out of the way, following on from the previous scene via a sound bridge. The scene then cuts to the Pandorica breaking out of the roof of the museum, following on from the last shot. The Pandorica flies off into the sky, which cuts to the Doctor rapidly typing out his last message on his communicator, which in turn cuts to River receiving the message back on the ground, following on the action. We then see a close up of the communicator. It says "Geronimo". Cutting back to River shaking her head, the camera pans onto Amy. The scene cuts back to the Doctor being shaken violently about in the Pandorica, breathing heavily. The scene cuts to the Pandorica flying through space debris to reach the burning TARDIS, cutting back to the Doctor for a few seconds and then cutting to the Pandorica entering the burning sphere. We finally see the sphere explode and the scene ends.

In addition to the constant cuts, throughout the whole scene, the 180 degree rule is never broken, the camera always stays pointing at them from the right hand side of the invisible line that splits the room and the 30 degree rule is adhered to, so that whenever the camera moves, it moves more than 30 degrees to prevent confusing jumps. The camera also moves between midshots to close ups, without jumping to a long shot, which helps to keep up the audience's understanding of the narrative and preventing jumps. The lack of fades or dissolves means that the scene is in real time and that no time passes, which the audience also understands. Thus the continuity of the scene is preserved and the audience reads the scene as it is meant to be.