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Basic picture
composition By Bill Olson © 2004 William David Sherman Olson |
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| This month I present some basic concepts of how to compose better pictures — that is, how to arrange objects in the frame so that your video looks more aesthetically pleasing and professional. | |||
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Nose Room.
If your subject is looking to one side of the frame, put extra space in
front of him (Fig. 1). Consider it space for him to look into. Having the edge of the frame right up against his face can
create claustrophobia and tension in the audience.
If the subject is walking, or your subject is a moving car, horse, plane,
boat or starship, the so-called nose room becomes like a space to move
into. |
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| Fig. 1. Tom Sherlock has nose room in Bill Olson’s 1992 film “Jamila.” |
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The Rule of Thirds states that the frame is naturally divided into thirds (Fig. 2 & 3). The state of the art is to place the subject, or an important part of the subject (like his eyes), on either one line or at the point where a vertical and horizontal line intersect. The point is to avoid placing the subject in the center. | ||
| Fig. 2. Mike Connolly paints in CTV’’s “Valley Gallery.” His left eye is at a point of intersection. | |||
| In an interview, it’s usually considered best to see both cheeks of the subject, but to have the subject looking slightly away from the camera. Even though you don’t have a profile, remember to give some proportional nose room (Fig. 3). | |||
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Finally, notice that there is not
a lot of space between the top of the head and the top of the frame (Fig. 3).
In fact, it’s often acceptable to cut off the top of the head (Fig. 1
& 2).
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| Fig. 3. Mike Connolly’s interview for “Valley Gallery.” His eyes are on a line of thirds. | |||
