Framing
Rule of Thirds
Before getting into specific types of shots, an important guideline for almost every shot must be explained: the rule of thirds. This rule, also used in still photography, helps to orient the subject(s) of a shot in a position that is most pleasing to the eye. To know how to compose the shot, the frame must be divided into thirds both horizontally and verically, making a total of nine boxes in the frame. Whatever is in the shot where the lines intersect will be visually appealing, as well as matches with the horizontal or vertical lines (mediacollege). Click here for an example from the Lumiere Brothers in an early film displaying the rule of thirds.
The picture on the right is a great representation of the rule of thirds: the horizon and the beach both run on the two horizontal lines; the boat, chairs, and distant mountain are all positioned closely to an intersection of the lines, leaving plenty of space between to appreciate each element in and of itself, but not distinctly separating any of them. The rule of thirds is essential to most techniques in framing, giving the camera operator an idea of where to keep everything in a shot.
Open Spaces
Often shots can become crowded if enough space isn't left in the frame for either the subject to fit or for the viewer to infer action between spaces. Some of the more common spaces ar referred to as headroom, noseroom (or looking room), and leading room. All of these allow the subject to fit comfortably within the frame of a shot or leave space for the viewer to infer some sort of action within the empty space as well as beyond the end of the frame. The idea is to not make the subject of the framing have to "interact with" the frame itself. The human brain will subconsciously think that if someone onscreen runs straight at the frame "wall" they will run into it and bounce off like a brick wall. These are efforsts you can take(if you want) to counteract these subconsious actions going on in all our brains.
-Headroom
is the space left above a subjects head within the frame (Thompson,
64). This is commonly employed in film and photography to leave space
between the subject's head and the edge of the frame, reducing the
amount of crowding of the subject in a particular part of the frame for
the viewer. Generally, viewer's eyes draw to the middle of images, not
the edges, so it is more aesthetically pleasing to keep some space
between the edge of the frame and the subject. The same description
applies to footroom, keeping distance between the subject's feet and the bottom of the frame (64).
-Noseroom,
or looking room, is space left between a subject and the edge of the
frame that is the focus of the subject's attention (64). This is most
commonly seen in eyeline match shots
where a subject looks offscreen in one direction, and then whatever is
being looked at is shown in the following shot. Usually, there is space
left between the first subject and the edge of the frame to imply that
there is some space between the subject in the first shot and the
subject in the second shot. Someone looking offscreen at the edge of the
frame would be unnatural and awkward for viewers because there is no
relevant scenery for the person to be looking through.
-Leading room is very similar to the concept of looking room, but is employed during a tracking shot.
Space is left in the frame in front of a moving subject to appease the
viewer's sense of reality that the subject must have space to move into
(mediacollege.com). Just as seeing someone looking at the edge of the
frame would be awkward for viewers, someone walking into the edge of the
frame would be awkward as well, leaving viewers no sense of setting
ahead of the moving subject.
Notice
the rule of thirds employed in all of these shots as well: the girl's
eyes are about 1/3 of the way down from the bottom, to woman is lined up
in the middle of the frame in the second shot, and the baby is near an
intersection of lines in the final shot.
Camera Position
The
position of the camera is imperative to shooting a well-composed shot
and it can also create emotional overtones to exaggerate the setting or
performances of actors. There are two main ways of thinking about the
postion of the camera, horizontal position and vertical position, that get broken down into a few other categories.
-Horizontal postion has three guideline shots that are commonly seen in filmmaking today. These classic angles are front, rear, profile, three-quarter, and three-quarter rear
(Stinson). All of these are fairly self explanatory: front shots look
much like the headroom example above (with a rear shot being the inverse
of that), three-quarter shots look similar to the noseroom example also
pictured above (and three-quarter rear as a reverse of that), and
profile shots simply shoot the subject of a front shot from an angle 90
degrees more or less than head on. All of these horizontal angles can be
used for various effects. Front or rear shots are somewhat flat and
usually the focus turns directly upon the actor and much of the setting
can be ignored. This also allows front shots to excentuate a more
presentational style of acting
because of the character's direct positioning to the camera.
Three-quarter shots, on the other hand, give much more depth to a shot
and allow many more dynamics for a scene. The background can be enhanced
by the actor's body fading slightly into it, bringing much more out in
an individual scene (Stinson).
-Vertical
positioning can vary from extreme highs to extreme lows depending on
the director's choice, but some baseline shots in vertical positioning
are called bird's-eye view, high angle, neutral angle, and low angle.
These are also fairly self-explanatory: bird's-eye view shots come from
directly above a scene, high angles are shot anywhere between there and
above average eye-level (normally) down upon the action, neutral angles
are often overlooked as they seem like the audience is merely looking
straight ahead (all of the "-room" examples above are shot from a
neutral angle), and low angles are shot from below characters pointing
up to the action. This different angles can also have varying aesthetic
effects; usually, high angles give a
sense of detachment for viewers, placing them above the action and above
the characters (both literally and figuratively). Neutral angles are
shot from average adult height and don't normally have as dramatic of an
effect on viewers as do high or low angles, since we are used to
viewing from this angle in daily life. Low angles can represent views
from pets or children or can make the subject seem to be rapidly closing
in on the camera. Low angles also give characters much more power on
the screen as they look down upon viewers (low angles can have a
different effect, as discussed in 2001: A Space Odyssey), contrary to high angles which give the audience more power and make the characters seem weaker (Stinson).
These
images exemplify the technical and aesthetic concepts of vertical
angles well. The bird's-eye view shot from the Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading
shows the flat, useless, and inconspicuous CIA headquarters, commenting
on them before any dialogue has even been spoken in the film. The high
angle shot from Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men
raises the audience above the bigoted Juror #10, lessening his
importance and placing the audience above his ideals. The neutral angle
from the same movie lets Juror #9 give his impassioned speech with the
full attention of the camera and the viewer- all that is distinguishable
in the frame is his face. The low angle shot from Quentin Trarantino's Reservoir Dogs
(commonly referred to as "trunk shots" in many of Tarantino's films)
gives all the power of the scene to the three characters looming over
the camera and the cop, yet to be seen, hog-tied in the trunk of their
car.
Dutch Angle
The dutch angle is where the camera itself is rotated making the horizon line rotated as well. This can be used in a variety of ways: anything from showing vertigo and unsettlement or disturbing ideas going on in a charcters mind. Like any other framing technique it is to be used by the director to help create the desired effect.
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