Framing Composition Design o Rule of Thirds Aesthetic concept describing the division of the rectangular frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically The placement of subjects at the point of intersection creates dynamic and visually pleasing compositions Extra space allowed in the frame in order to balance a subject s o Lookspace gaze Lead room Look towards negative third or negative space o CU Extra space in the image Close up Shows head of subject with just a bit of the shoulder line o MCU Medium close up Shows head and shoulders of subject Navel to face o ECU XCU o Focal Length Extreme close up Crops the top of the head and the bottom of the subject s chin Shows emotion Determines the lens field of view how much of the scene in front of the lens is included in the frame as well as the magnification Magnification o How large the objects o Telephoto Lens with a long focal length that selects a small segment of what is in front of the lens and makes it seem closer and larger than it would to the eye Normal telephoto lens is 100mm Telephoto lenses Compress depth Make subjects in the foreground and background appear closer together than with a normal lens Flatten and soften facial features Exaggerate camera shake o Wide Angle o Depth of Field Type of lens with a short focal length that takes in a wide field of view making objects in that scene appear farther away than they would to the eye A range of acceptable focus along the camera subject axis Deep focus If objects that are several feet in front of and behind the subject which you are focused on appear sharp Allows the viewer to choose what part of the frame to look at Shallow focus When objects that are only a few inches or less in front of or behind the subject are unfocused or blurry Directs the viewer s attention to what is sharp Can be manipulated by 1 Aperture As aperture decreases the depth of field increases 2 Camera subject distance Affects the magnification of the image The greater the distance between the subject and camera the greater the depth of field The closer the camera is to the subject the shallower the depth of field 3 Focal length Affects the magnification of the image The more the image is magnified the less the apparent depth of field Greater o Wide angle lens o Smaller aperture Higher f stop o Photoshop layer Images in Photoshop can be color corrected scaled and layered with other images and text Each layer can be worked on and saved separately which makes changes and adjustments much easier Allows us to contro the brightness of an image Layers of Other images Text Drawings o 5 principles of good composition Balance Contrast Focal point Movement Perspective o Balance Symmetrical balance Approach to creating balanced composition within the frame in which the left half of the frame is identical to the right One example is if the subject is centered in the frame o Eyes are drawn to the center of the image Subject or object of most importance is expected to be centered o Conveys a scene that is stable or static o Golden mean Mathematical approach to design based on a rectangle with the aspect ratio of 11 618 When the rectangle is subdivided to create a square of 1 1 proportion the subdividing line creates a position of aesthetic strength Ex Big picture with a ton of space on top with someone s Imbalanced head cut off at the bottom Asymmetrical balance Approach to creating balanced composition within the frame that can be achieved by balancing a subject on one side of the frame with a subject or other visual element on the other side o Contrast o Movement Comparison of tonal values from white to black Viewer experiences a photograph film or video through the point With motion pictures that point of view can change as the of view of the camera s lens camera moves Looking to prevent shaking Smooth movements o Stability Often associated with quality o Avoids blurriness Shakiness can be used as a technique but is often unpleasant to watch Pan and tilt are pivoting movements in which the mount or operator stays in one spot Pan Tilt o Pivots right and left o Pivots up and down A truck or tracking shot moves through space to the right or left and you can truck or track right or left A truck is done on a wheeled dolly on a studio floor A track is done on dolly tracks An arc is a truck that follows a curved line as opposed to a straight path Not considered a movement but a zoom is an optical adjustment that changes the viewer s vantage point If we define movement within the frame as a way of changing what the viewer sees and hears editing is part of movement too The subject can move within the frame changing what the viewer sees from a long shot to a tighter shot or the subject can exit the from the frame all together o Perspective o Negative space Where was the image shot from What way is the viewer meant to perceive it Empty space Space around an object or form Also called white space Compositional tool used in both two and three dimensional work The simplest way to describe it is as space where other things are not present Just as important as that object itself negative space helps to define the boundaries of positive space and brings balance to a composition Storytelling the Production Process o Three Act Structure An approach to developing a screenplay o Four Act Structure Act 1 Inductive model which derived from other Hollywood crafted films First act introduces characters has the main character face conflict and has the protagonist choose to pursue a goal Second act continues the action and ends in a climax o Gathering of allies o Stakes are raised o Turning point may occur midway through o Protagonist hits a low point near end and all hope seems lost About to give up but then spark triggers the recommitment to the goal Third act provides a resolution o Protagonist faces final obstacle alone o Climax Struggle tension peak o Protagonist overcomes obstacle o Conflict is resolved o Denouement Order is restored o Set up o Introduces characters and exposition Often the protagonist conceives one or more goals during this section though in some cases the set up sticks to introducing the circumstances that will later lead to the formulation of goals Act 2 Act 3 o Complicating action o Complicating action pushes us in a new direction The new direction may involve the hero pursuing goals conceived during set up but having to change tactics dramatically In many cases though the complicating action serves as a