Continuity facts for kids

Continuity is a cool word used in art, especially when artists create a series of works that are all connected. Imagine a story that unfolds over many movies or books – continuity is what makes sure everything fits together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle! It's about making sure things stay consistent and make sense from one part of a story to the next.

What is Continuity?

Continuity means that all the details in a story or a series of artworks stay true to what happened before. It helps the audience believe in the world the artist has created.

Continuity in Movies and TV Shows

Think about the Star Wars movies. There are many films, but they all tell one big story. This is a great example of continuity! Everything that happens in one movie needs to make sense with what happened in the previous ones.

For example, in the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the hero Luke Skywalker loses his hand. In the very next movie, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, he has a new, fake hand. This makes sense because it follows what happened before. If he suddenly had his real hand back, it would be confusing! The audience would wonder, "Wait, didn't he lose his hand?" Continuity makes sure these kinds of details are correct.

What is Poor Continuity?

Sometimes, mistakes happen in movies or TV shows, and that's called "poor continuity." Imagine a scene where a character has a full glass of juice. Then, in the very next shot, the glass is empty. And then, in another shot, it's full again! This would be poor continuity because it doesn't make sense. It can even distract you from the story because you notice the mistake.

Continuity in Comic Books

Continuity is also super important in comic books, especially when many different characters live in the same fictional world. For instance, Superman and Aquaman are both superheroes who live in the same comic book universe.

If Superman visits Atlantis (Aquaman's underwater city), it should look and feel the same as when Aquaman is there. If Atlantis looked totally different depending on who visited it, it would be confusing for readers. Making sure all the different stories, characters, and places fit together is a big part of working with continuity in comics. Sometimes, the word "continuity" is even used to talk about the entire history of these shared stories.