180-degree Rule & "The Shining"

The 180-degree rule in editing makes sure that the camera is only capturing the action from one side. The reason this is a rule is because if the camera is shooting two actors and moves more than 180 degrees, it will give the illusion that the actors' positions have been switched or reverse, confusing the viewers. It makes sure that the space between one character and another character or object is consistent throughout the scene. There is an imaginary line in the shot referred to as an axis that connects the characters, and the cameras must stay solely on one side of the axis. To envision the 180-degree rule, picture a circle with one character on either side looking at each other. Cameras should only be positioned in half of that circle, hence "180 degrees". 

This rule has been broken in films such as Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". In the scene where two characters are having a conversation in a bathroom, the 180-degree rule is broken as the camera angle switches from one side of the imaginary axis to the other, making it seem like the two characters have switched positions if the viewer isn't keeping a careful eye. However, the breaking of the rule in this case was a stylistic decision by Kubrick to disorient and confuse the viewers purposefully, because it goes well with the horror and suspense that the movie portrays. This type of stylistic decision would not work in most films, but Kubrick pulled it off in an infamous way.