The coverage technique involves shooting from more positions than will be used in the final film, allowing the director to choose shots during the editing process.
This avoids the need to bring back cast and crew for later pickups and reshoots if the director is unsatisfied with the results from the camera positions that were originally planned.
[2] Coverage also allows the editor to take control of a performance, adjusting the timing so that the audience's needs (rather than those of the director or actor) are met.
Coverage also allows the editor to get around mistakes in cinematography,[8] the lack of clean frames, or continuity errors.
This gave the director and editor, as well as producers and studio executives, the maximum amount of freedom in cutting the film.
[7] Since the demise of the studio system, coverage has taken on less importance in terms of crafting a scene due to the emphasis on the auteur theory of filmmaking.
[9] Veteran feature film editor John Rosenberg has argued, however, that moving away from the "Hollywood style" and studio system has led to lower-quality cinematography.
A good editor has a strong aesthetic sense, a complete understanding of the technical aspects of filmmaking, and a solid ability to tell a story.
[13] In feature film production, coverage is delivered every day to the editor in the form of "dailies" (also known as "rushes").
[1] Editor Conrad Buff has discussed the use of coverage in a critical scene in the 2004 motion picture King Arthur.
Luckily, the main unit was able to schedule time to film the close-ups and reaction shots against a greenscreen.
The second unit filmed medium shots on a soundstage with a water tank, using extras and stunt performers to capture battle scene and ice break-up elements.
The visual effects team then spent extra time and money transforming these shots into acceptable coverage.