The Invisible Coffee Cup
Stock instructional metaphor for object-work consistency, if you sip from an invisible coffee cup, the cup must stay in the same hand, at the same height, with the same weight for the whole scene.
Known for
- Canonical example in Level 1 teaching across schools.
- Failure modes: cup shifts hands; cup disappears mid-scene; cup is 'set down' but remains held.
- Used as a diagnostic by teachers: if a performer's coffee cup dissolves, their presence has slipped.
Connected to
Notes
Borderline wiki-article vs. class-exercise metaphor. Arguably more a pedagogical device than a concept, but widely recognized enough that it functions as shorthand across schools.