Continuity Supervisor, 4th Edition

Rehearsals and Actors

Rehearsals are vitally important as they provide you with your only opportunity of writing down all the information you need. You will never be able to do the job properly if you ignore the rehearsals and only pay attention during the actual take.

There is so much you need to notice in any shot that you can only build up a complete picture bit by bit. Rehearsals afford you the opportunity to do this. For example, during the first rehearsal of a scene, you may not be able to write down the action, but you can at least make a note of the actor’s costume. You can also take a Polaroid or other instant picture or draw a diagram of the basic set and the approximate camera position. At the next rehearsal you can note down a bit ...