filmmaker is probably attempting to call special
attention to the relationship between the action in
the foreground and that in the middle ground or
background in order to establish a theme or to con-
vey a number of narrative ideas simultaneously. In
the long shot from Terrence Malick’s Days of
Heaven (1978; cinematographer: Néstor Almen-
dros) pictured on the next page, composition of this
sort establishes a very important hierarchical rela-
tionship between the characters in the foreground
and the character (represented by his distant and
visually aloof mansion) in the background.
In addition to helping filmmakers achieve distri-
bution and balance in the general relationship of
what we see on the screen, the rule of thirds helps
cinematographers ensure that compositions flow
appropriately from one shot to another. Without
258 CHAPTER 6 CINEMATOGRAPHY
The rule of thirdsThe rule of thirds applies to interior as
well as exterior cinematography, particularly in genres such
as the Western, where wide-open spaces figure significantly
in a movie’s meaning. Kit (Martin Sheen), the protagonist of
Terence Malick’s Badlands(1973; cinematographers: Tak
Fujimoto, Steven Lamer, and Brian Probyn), takes to the road
on a violent killing spree, accompanied by his girlfriend Holly
(Sissy Spacek). Although not a Western per se, the movie is
an American classic both for its focus on the serial killers
that are now, unfortunately, part of our culture and its
widescreen depiction of the flat, deep badlands between the
Dakotas and the Canadian border. In this image, Kit (with his
arms looped over his rifle) takes stock of himself on the eve
of his final spree. The rising moon occupies the deep
background plane of the image; the dust-filled air of the
landscape dominates the middle ground. Kit is walking
toward us in the foreground, looking something like a
scarecrow (an object that is frightening, but not dangerous).
This character, isolated in the natural grandeur, gives no hint
of what evil he will do tomorrow.DVDThis tutorial examines the various types
of camera angles and their effects on viewers.