shot framing
DESCRIPTION
This Powerpoint presentation outlines composition principles for basic framing composition in journalistic features.TRANSCRIPT
Journalists using videography must be as capable of telling a story with
words as they are with pictures. This lesson is designed to teach you the “language” of framing and shot
composition.
Review of Basic Camera Composition and Framing
Framing• Establishing shot-An opening shot of a scene, segment
or production…used to establish location, mood, setting, time of day; taken with a wide field of view (W)
• Detail shot-shows detail of the subject in a telephoto/narrow angle…good for focusing the viewers’ attention on a subject such as expressions; taken with a narrow field of view (T)
• Dialogue shot-frame up the subject’s upper body and face to see what they’re saying and how they’re interacting with another person(s).
• There are seven (7) typical FIELDS OF VIEW These are used to frame the subject on-screen.
Extreme close up (ecu)
Close-up (cu)
Medium close up (mcu)
Medium shot (ms)
Medium long shot (mls)
Long shot (ls)
Extreme long shot (els)
More on Framing
Noseroom
• The space left in front of nose of person talking to give believability that there is someone off screen they are talking with.
Headroom
•The space left at top of head and top of frame…important since too much headroom looks like the person is short and not enough looks like they’re bumping their head on the top of the frame.
Not enough Too much
Leadroom
•The space left in front of the moving subject to give the believability that there is some place they are going.
Background Composition Tilted horizon-the
vertical and horizontal lines are
inconsistent with the frame. IT LOOKS
SLANTED. Frame up lines with edges of
frame.
Street sign or plant behind the head-
looks like the object is coming out of someone’s
head. Move person away from sign or
move the plant.
Tonal Mergers
• Be careful to make sure the colour and tone of your foreground does not blend into the background.
It is difficult to see the butterfly in this picture
Creating Depth
Because images are two-dimensional, it is important to give the illusion of depth by lengthening the “z” axis. Shooting images with a foreground, mid-ground, and background can lengthen the Z axis and create more depth.
Rule of ThirdsPlacement of subject(s) and cut off points all fall within 3rds of the frame.
Mental Map (also known by Herbert Zettl as “psychological closure”)
• Mentally filling in spaces of an incomplete picture.
Be careful not to cut people off at the neck or at the knees
Shot set-up for continuity editing
• It is important to have a quick lesson in editing so that you can set up your shots in a way that won’t confuse the viewer.
Vector Lines
• When cameras cross the 180 degree line, screen positions are changed and motion continuity is reversed and confused.
• Keeping the mental map intact requires proper vector continuity
• Cameras must be kept on the same side of the vector line
Dialogue VectorA relationship is set up between individuals in
conversation by setting up shots and sequencing them
back to back. This relationship is set up with a
“2-shot” of the conversation. The 2-shot is often followed by a “cross
shot” or an “over the shoulder shot”, which is
used to maintain this connection between
individuals.
Dialogue Vectors Cont’d• In conversational sequences, Person A
should stay on the left and person B should stay on the right. This allows the
viewer to mentally map the subjects’ positions.
Incorrect Vector Sequence -Crossing the vector
A B B A
Correct Dialogue Vector
Notice how person A stays on the left while person B stays on the
right?
A B A B
Motion Vectors
Be careful not to cross the 180 degree line of action or it will look like your subject has switched direction