Term: Eyeline Match

A cinematic editing practice aimed at ensuring the inherent logic of a look or gaze. An eyeline match basically shows what a character is looking at. Most commonly, they are used when a character looks at something offscreen (gaze shot), and the next shot then shows what is being looked at (typically a point-of-view shot). Eyeline matches help to establish and stabilize spatial continuity, as successive shots correspond to the spatial layout of characters and objects established in earlier shots. The corresponding editing practice of the eyeline match also obeys the 180° rule. A point-of-view shot is a special type of eyeline match, in which the audience is shown exactly what a character is seeing.