Embedded Files
Composition - You should always take time to consider, not just your subject, but the background details very carefully.
If you have control over your scene, ensure the space behind your subject is aesthetically relevant to your subject and story.
If you don’t have control over your environment, choose your position in the room carefully to capture the best image possible, don’t be afraid to move around the room and try different angles.
Be particularly attentive to background details such as fire exit signs, bins, extinguishers, etc which love to make cameos. Their attention grabbing colours can pull focus from your subject and story. Tidy away or move anything that could distract, food, jackets, rubbish, we see everything!
The White Wall
On the flip side of this, I often find people, in their effort to keep their backgrounds as clean and neutral as possible, position their subject right in front of a white wall.
Positioning your subject directly in front of a wall results in the image looking flat and the composition can evoke clinical imagery such as work headshots, police line-up images & ID Cards.
White walls can be extremely hard to expose correctly, the overwhelming amount of white in the image makes the camera think that it's overexposed and so it drops the exposure, resulting in a dull image. White walls will immediately draw attention to white balancing issues in camera appearing too warm or too blue. White walls are also rarely pure white, scuffs and marks show up very easily which can result in the background looking dirty.
A white wall backdrop can be optimised by putting some distance between your subject and the wall, filming on an angle or adding elements of interest such as plants & pictures.
Depth
Depth can be created using a variety of compositional and technical elements such as leading lines, movement direction, aperture settings, lens choice, lighting, etc. Having depth in your image draws your audiences eye through and into your scene and invests them in the environment and action.
Symmetry
Compositional symmetry is always aesthetically pleasing way of displaying your subject and scene.
Level Gauge
Most cameras, including smartphones, offer the ability to monitor the horizontal and vertical orientation of the camera. If for any reason it doesn't, applying a grid can also assist you to align your image.
Creative effects aside, it's best to ensure your shots are level horizontally, particularly when there's a clear horizon or architectural marker.
Rule of Thirds - is a method of composition which involves dividing the sides of a frame into thirds. This forms a grid with 9 equal sections. Placing subjects of interest on the points where the grid lines cross is aesthetically pleasing, allowing the view space to both view the subject, and the context in which is resides.
Rule of Thirds for Interviews - Use the top left or right crossing point and allow “looking room” for the subject in the direction of the remaining frame.
Choose an interview background environment that tells us something about the character, mood or profession of the subject. This can provide additional information to the viewer about the video’s narrative or tone and create a more interesting composition. Avoid the White Wall where possible.
Ideally have some distance between your subject and their back ground to add depth.
The composition for duos / trios, etc is a little different, but follows similar parameters.
Filming in twos or threes can help interviewees feel comfortable if they're nervous being filmed solo, or it can useful to get through more people when you're on a tight time limit.
Frame within a frame
This compositional technique uses elements within your scene such as door ways, windows, architectural elements, natural arches, etc to frame your subject within your shot. This can assist with providing depth and interest to your shot as well as drawing extra focus to your subject.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse