DESIGN BASICS & COMPOSITION OVERVIEW The Principle of Role The Role of the Frame Separation Wide, Medium, Close-Up Position of the Optical Axis Compositional Rules

DESIGNING IMAGES To design an image is to intentionally place ALL of the elements within the frame to communicate specific meaning and emotional content.

DESIGNING IMAGES Anything contained within the frame may be interpreted by the viewer, so absolute awareness is a essential skill for image creation. Objects and structures create mutual relationships to one another – when you alter one element, you affect the overall meaning.

Goodbye to Boats (Sailing Out), John Baldessari 1972-73

THE PRINCIPLE OF ROLE Each element in a message always has a specific function that is distinct (separate) from what it would have in reality. In visual mediums, the role of an element is dependent upon the mutual relationships between elements and the frame.

SEPARATION OF OBJECTS REALITY IS PLASTIC VIDEO HAS A FIXED PERSPECTIVE We can move and change our perspective VIDEO HAS A FIXED PERSPECTIVE Figures should be arranged to ease the viewer in separating elements FUSING OF OBJECTS Disturbing & Confusing Elements Integration of Ideas

ROLE OF THE FRAME MATERIAL ROLE ARTISTIC ROLE The frame defines active space The frame defines active elements Should exclude inactive elements ARTISTIC ROLE Enables creation of specific relationships Elements in relationship to the frame OBJECTS HAVE A RELATIONSHIP TO THE FRAME ITSELF

ROLE OF THE FRAME

WIDE, MEDIUM, CLOSE-UP Wide (Long) Shot: full body Establishes scene, structure, character Medium Shot: waist-up Establishes relationships between characters, objects Close-Up: full face Shows character emotion Can give first-person perspective Can exclude elements intentionally http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/

True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010 WIDE (LONG) True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010

True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010 MEDIUM True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010

True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010 CLOSE-UP True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010

True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010 EXTREME CLOSE-UP True Grit, dir Joel & Ethan Cohen, 2010

POSITION OF THE OPTICAL AXIS EYE-HEIGHT = NEUTRAL VIEW Wide-Angle and Telephoto Lenses HIGH ANGLE SHOTS Downward tilt or from above the subject Relationship between an object and its surroundings LOW ANGLE SHOTS Upward tilt or from below the subject Makes the object “Monumental” TILTED ANGLE

Persona, dir Ingmar Bergman, 1966

Inglorious Basterds, dir Quentin Tarentino, 2009

Rule of Thirds http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

Nose Rule Nose Room (or Lead Room) is the space in front of a moving or stationary object We use this space to denote movement or direction of gaze About 2/3 of space should be in front of subject, 1/3 behind The angle of gaze can affect this balance Reversing this balance can make the subject look cramped (or appear to be looking away, or leaving the frame)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, dir Tony Richardson, 1962

Meek’s Cutoff, dir Tony Richardson, 1963

The King’s Speech, dir Tom Hooper, 2010

Headroom Headroom refers to the amount of space between the top of a subject and the top of the frame Headroom changes as we zoom in and out (from Wide to Close-Up) With people, the eyes are the “subject” of the frame, and should be placed 1/3 of the way from the top of the frame to maintain proper headroom in any shot

180 degree rule When two characters appear in the same scene, they should always have the same left/right orientation. This is achieved by drawing a line between the characters, and always positioning the camera on the same side of this line. Crossing this line at an edit point will cause disorientation for the viewer. One exception to this rule is if the camera or character moves during a shot, crossing the line while the viewer is aware

180 degree rule

Shot-Reverse shot The shot-reverse shot occurs when we see an image of a character looking at something, and then this is followed immediately by the object the character is viewing. “Eyeline Matching” is important in creating the illusion of the shot-reverse shot. When done properly, the viewer is “sutured” into the narrative.

ARRANGEMENT OF FIGURES IN THE FRAME GOALS Create Mutual Relationships Emphasize Action In Depth (or…) Emphasize Flatness of the Medium PLACEMENT TO EASE VIEWING Principle of Contrast DIRECTION OF LIGHT USE OF A PERSON