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.