One of the most commendable traits of ‘Shameless’ is its ability to create unbelievable situations that unfold in somehow believable ways. While, realistically, the audience knows that these events cannot unfold so quickly in real life, the quick and clean editing allows for a strong, yet chaotic, continuity.
Throughout the scene, we follow a variety of objects as characters pass through the house, focusing on key objects that the characters interact with in turn (i.e. the bathroom door, the calendar, the cereal box). While items of interest are passed from character to character, the audience is introduced to each of them and part of their role in the family. The quick movement of certain objects (throwing the phone across the room) allows for the camera to change to be fast but maintain a cohesive scene.
Another interesting editing trick used is keeping more than one character in frame for most of the screen time. This allows the viewer to absorb more visual chaos as they see multiple characters completing actions at the same time, with some of these actions passing from one character to another as well. This is controlled by one of the actions being more ‘dominant’ than the other, such as one character filling out a form while others do the simpler action of pouring cereal.