Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 1 Motion Picture Language 19

Using Composition

When you learned about framing of shots and the ways shots are edited

together, you were introduced to key foundations of style and tone in

a film. When a filmmaker sets up a particular framing for a shot, the

way in which people, objects, background, and other visual elements

are arranged in the frame is called composition. As you learned earlier,

there are terms to describe basic approaches to composition, such as

close-ups or wide shots. Filmmakers must consider many factors as they

devise unique solutions to compose shots and establish a visual style in

a motion picture.

When devising composition for a shot, refl ect on the size of the screen

and the eff ect of where things are placed in the space of the frame. Th e

motion picture screen is fl at, so the width and height of the frame are

immediately obvious to the cameraperson and the viewer. Head room and

lead room are important factors in creating a framing style. Excessive head

room can look amateurish or it can help to create a humorous look, and

lead room can help to direct the audience’s attention or create tension by a

tight framing. When you look at a picture, what draws your interest? What

types of arrangements seem dynamic or interesting to the viewer? What

compositions are chosen for a straightforward presentation of information,

such as a televised press conference or video of a person speaking at a

town meeting?

Many of the essential concepts of composition are shared with other

visual art forms that use fl at frames, such as painting and sequential art

(comics or graphic novels). Although there are sometimes major diff erences

in frame dimensions between diff erent media, the ways in which space and

Figure 1-23 What is shown in a composition can be as important as what is not shown. When viewers

see two shots in succession, they interpret meaning from how the shots are presented. (Courtesy of

Carl Casinghino).

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