match on action

Match on action is when there is a shot of something happening, then it cuts to that something from a different angle (the same piece of action must be going on in the order its happening... it can't cut to whats already happened). This is part of continuity editing.

Eyeline match

This is where there is a character looking off the screen in one shot, and then in the next shot it shows the object or person they were looking at. It is associated with the continuity editing.

shot/reverse shot

this is a filming technique that can make a scene, usually dialogue, run smoother. for exaple - you can see one person is looking at another, then the shot goes to the other person looking back at them. this editing technique utilizes the 180degree rule, and the eyeline match.

180degree rule.

180degree rule is a basic guideline of film making. It means when you have two people for example, facing each other, then there is an imaginary line running straight through them, and you can not 'cross the line'. As this would then make the people start facing a different way to what they were a minute ago, thus confusing the audience and the flow of the scene. E.G, Sam is facing left and Peter is facing right, if you swapped to the other side of them (crossing the line) Peter would be facing left and Sam would be facing right.