180-degree rule

The 180-degree rule enables the viewer to visually connect with unseen movement happening around and behind the immediate subject and is particularly important in the narration of battle scenes.

Carl Theodor Dreyer did this in The Passion of Joan of Arc; Stanley Kubrick also did this, for example, in the bathroom scene in The Shining.

[6] In the seminal French New Wave film À bout de souffle (Breathless), Jean-Luc Godard breaks the rule in the first five minutes in a car scene which jumps between the front and back seats, improvising an "aesthetic rebellion" for which the New Wave would become known.

[7] When the rule is broken accidentally, or for a technical reason (such as the inability to place a camera physically in the correct position), there are techniques which may be employed to attempt to hide it.

For example, the editor may pre-lap a word or two of dialog prior to the cut, so that the viewer will concentrate on what is being said as a distraction from the breaking of cinematic convention.

[citation needed] Some styles used with the 180-degree rule can elicit an emotion or create a visual rhythm.

[9] In the Japanese anime feature Paprika, two of the main characters discuss, and demonstrate, the disorientating effect of crossing the line.

[11] The basic premise is that abiding by the rule helps keep characters on the correct side of the screen.

[11] Some research has demonstrated that crossing the line can negatively affect the accuracy of spatial representation of the scene.