Continuity in Film: Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.The shots you should have for a basic shot reverse shot are: a two-shot of the characters usually in wide or medium shot; an over the shoulder shot on character A; and an over the shoulder shot on character B. Shot reverse shot is used with the 180-degree rule.

For example, in a shot-reverse shot sequence of two characters having a conversation, the first shot is a character looking towards the second character (who is offscreen). The second shot would be a shot, from the reverse angle, of the second character looking back at the first character. The shot-reverse-shot sequence will cut between these shots and will usually include a wide or establishing shot to break them apart.