# data[].attributes.body
Understanding your audience, and the story that you are trying to convey, is the most important thing to remember as a cinematographer.

# data[].attributes.headline
The crew already knows all the information about a story, but it is the cinematographers job to decide when and how to convey that information to the audience. 

# data[].attributes.subject
The crew already knows all the information about a story, but it is the cinematographers job to decide when and how to convey that information to the audience. 

# data[].attributes.body
These are elements that control the story that you images are telling

# data[].attributes.headline
Questions to ask yourself before the preproduction process is done 

# data[].attributes.subject
Questions to ask yourself before the preproduction process is done 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What is the movie about?

2. Whose story is it? (what is the narrative point of view)

3. What does this character want?

4. What's stopping the character from having what she or he wants?

# data[].attributes.body
Consistency is key for helping your viewer understand what is going on. Having inconsistent lighting, shot composition, focal length, etc. can cause confusion for the viewer.

# data[].attributes.body
Preproduction is key, as everything you do stems from this phase. Failing to utilize preproduction can cause confusion later, as well as an overspending on budget.

# data[].attributes.body
Above are some of the examples of elements that are affected by preproduction. This coincides with consistency, as failure to declare what these standards will be throughout production can cause confusion for the viewer later.

Other things you'll need to focus on on this stage include:

Assembling your crew

Figuring out what order to film your movie in.

If multiple scenes take place in the same location, it would make sense to shoot all of those at the same time so you don't have to keep traveling back to that location.

Discuss with director. The director has a goal and it is your job as a cinematographer to put those ideas into practice.

# data[].attributes.body
Composition is the placement of people and objects in the frame, to tell your story in the most powerful way possible. This is used through shapes and visual patterns.

# data[].attributes.body
Humans can use their previous knowledge in visual patterns to orient themselves when viewing a motion picture.

For example, humans know that a soda can is a handheld item. We also know that mountains are extremely tall. If we see in a picture that a soda can is shown at the same height as the mountain, our brains will automatically discern that we are close to the soda can and far from the mountains.

# data[].attributes.body
Often times, not giving the audience certain information is more powerful than showing them. "Breaking the rules" of shot composition can evoke a certain emotional reaction.

For instance, having a character on the right side of the frame looking to the right can create suspence. This makes the character feel trapped as we are not able to see what it is they are looking at, and the dead space to their left causes tension.

# data[].attributes.body
Contrary to how much I've talked about consistency, it's ok to break that pattern for a purpose. Maintaining consistency is important so that when you break away from that, it is more impactful.

# data[].attributes.body
Elements of composition include:

Aspect ratio

Rule of thirds

Graphic weight

Kuleshov effect

180 degree rule

These are only some of the many aspects of composition, and if you are unfamiliar with these or want to learn others, click on the picture above for a link with more information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Rule of Thirds

Firstly, the rule of thirds is one of the most common camera framing techniques used in film or photography. It's about positioning a character to show their relation to other elements in the scene.

Imagine a tic-tac-toe board - two lines running vertical, and two more running horizontal.

Points of Interest lie on the Intersecting Lines

As the camera frames your shot, keep the image on the intersecting lines. It's more pleasing to the eye. But also, different camera framing will tell a different story. It is an easy way to determine the character's place in the world.

Frame Composition and the Rule of Thirds

The frame composition in Nightcrawler is, well, crawling with this rule. Lou appears on the side of the frame, away from the world he exists in.

Gilroy's use of the rule of thirds isolates Lou, highlighting this as the main theme. The rule of thirds can also be used with two characters.

Rule of Thirds with two characters

Remember to draw that imaginary tic-tac-toe board. Put a character on either side of the intersecting lines. Gilroy also uses this technique to show the darker side of the character. In many scenes, Lou is placed off-center and only the side of his face is visible.

Framing can suggest an untrustworthy character

It's hard to trust someone we rarely ever see.

The director's decisions to position Lou this way, showing only his profile, creates an untrustworthy, distant, character.

Mastering frame composition and framing in film also allows you to break some of the rules of composition.

Rules of Composition

Balance and symmetry

Understanding frame composition rules is invaluable knowledge for directors and cinematographers. And so is knowing when to break them.

Shooting a perfectly symmetrical shot, breaking the rule of thirds, is used for very specific reasons. Gilroy puts Lou in the center of the screen, ignoring the rule of thirds.

We feel it. But why?

Breaking the Rule of Thirds

Lou is the center of attention. And it causes tension.

Artists use this technique to direct the viewer's eye to a specific place. And leading the eye to the center of the screen might end up serving your story better, and garner more emotion. Past films have done this well. Balance and symmetry in a shot can be very effective.

Consider these examples from Stanley Kubrick's best movies.

Symmetry in Full Metal Jacket

They often reveal character traits and power dynamics.

Daunting Symmetry and Balance in 2001: Space Odyssey

Or they create a place so perfectly symmetrical, the audience feels instantly overwhelmed. If you know anything about Wes Anderson's directing style, you know he loves a symmetrical frame.

Wes Anderson's uses Strict Symmetry in Moonrise Kingdom

Working in tandem with the rules of composition, blocking and staging is also responsible for creating dynamic frames.

BLOCKING DEFINITION

What is blocking?

Blocking is the way the director moves actors in a scene. The director's approach to blocking is dependent on the desired outcome (e.g., for dramatic effect, to convey an intended message, or to visualize a power dynamic).

Blocking the actor in a symmetrical shot can be a very effective way to lead the viewer to a certain feeling or emotion. This video is part of our Filmmaking Techniques Masterclass allows us to visualize the power of blocking and staging.

Note that leading the eye of the viewer should be your priority in every scene you frame. Blocking often uses leading lines to control what the audience sees, and how they see it. This affects how they interpret it.

Film Composition Techniques

Leading lines

Leading lines are actual lines (or sometimes imaginary ones) in a shot, that lead the eye to key elements in the scene.

Artists use this technique to direct the viewer's eye but they also use it to connect the character to essential objects, situations, or secondary subjects. Whatever your eye is being drawn to in a scene, leading lines probably have something to do with it.

It is a very useful type of shot composition as it conveys essential context to the audience. Let's see how its used in Nightcrawler. This stringer scenes use leading lines to take us to the accident.

Can you spot them?

The diagonal line from Lou's feet to the back wheels of the police car, help frame the shot. It is a leading line that interestingly enough, also represents what his camera is able to capture.

Lou framing both his and our shot

Another leading line is established by the character's movement. He is walking towards the accident with a camera, a straight line.

Both the diagonal and straight line frame the crash as the focus. What's interesting is that his camera is also doing that inside of the scene.

Here's a great breakdown of how composing with leading lines creates depth and draws the eye.

Composition Techniques * Sunny 16

While this rule of composition helps lead us to our focus, other techniques help us connect to our focus.

Eye for Empathy

Eye-level framing

Eye-level framing positions the audience at eye-level with the characters, which plants the idea that we are equal with the character. Leading the eye and the mind to consider how we would feel if we were there, because it almost feels like we already are.

Nightcrawler uses this technique to elicit empathy for its anti-hero. No matter how Lou's character read on the page, what we saw on screen, was somebody just like us.

Follow the image link to see a full StudioBinder storyboard of pivotal moments in the film.

This sense of connectedness is important when watching an anti hero. It makes room for empathy. An emotion needed to stay connected to a very flawed character. And so, we stick around for the ride.

Just by showing the viewer the eye's of the character, the audience sees into their soul. It might not be a steadfast rule of shot composition, but it is an effective technique.

A close-up on his eyes signals that Lou's state of mind and inner feelings are important right at that moment. It allows us to feel what he's feeling. It is the easiest way to garner empathy.

Eye-Level Close Up on Lou

Now let's zoom out of our camera frame, and see how our director uses basic video composition to show Lou's sense of place in the world.

Composition Examples

Depth of field

To understand cinematography is to understand depth of field.

Mastering spacial composition in the frame is one of the hallmarks of effective visual storytelling. But before we learn how to manipulate depth to benefit our story, why don't we first define depth of field.

Depth of Field Definition

What is depth of field?

Depth of field describes the size of the area in your image where objects appear acceptably sharp. That area is called the field, and the size of that area is the depth of that field.

Depth of field is essentially your zone of sharpness. If you make that zone longer, bringing more objects into focus, you will have a deep depth of field.

Similarly, if you make that zone shorter or smaller, with less in focus, you will have a shallow depth of field. One way to achieve this adjustment is by using the lens aperture.

A Large Depth of Field has More Objects in Focus

Now that we know a little more about this, we can manipulate our depths of field to convey different feelings, tones, and relationships between objects.

RACK FOCUS DEFINITION

What is rack focus?

A rack focus in filmmaking is changing the focus during a shot. The term can refer to small or large changes of focus. If the focus is shallow, then the technique becomes more noticeable.

One of my favorite ways to manipulate an image is to use rack focus. It changes focus right in the middle of a shot.

If the filmmaker starts off with a large depth of field, and in the same shot moves to a shallow one, the new focused element becomes the centerpiece for the scene.

It dramatizes it just by switching the types of camera focus, manipulating the depth of field. Check out the video below to see this technique in Casino Royale.

Manipulating Depth of Field with Rack Focus

But shooting elements in focus isn't the only way to tell your story.

Shooting out of focus can be just as powerful. We'll see in Nightcrawler how the director uses blurring to illustrate his themes.

BOKEH DEFINITION

What is bokeh?

In photography, bokeh (/ˈboʊkeɪ/ BOH-kay; Japanese: [boke]) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light".

Bokeh is the circular blurring produced from out of focus images.

A huge theme in Nightcrawler is isolation. To show this, Gilroy uses rules of shot composition well with bokeh.

Types of Shot Composition: Bokeh Technique to Show Lou's Isolation

This kind of shot helps distance Lou from the world around him.

He is connected only to himself.

The director also, keeps people out of focus. This technique is used to reveal more about Lou's alienation from society.

Keeping Others Out of Focus to Experience Alienation

Everyone but Lou is blurry. They're technically in his world, but they feel very far away.

His isolation is palpable throughout the film thanks to intentional camera frames and basic video composition tips.

Rules of Composition

Deep space composition

Because there are so many nuances in shot composition, it's sometimes hard to keep track of all these techniques. I felt it best to create a separate section for deep space composition apart from depth of field.

We will define deep space shots, as well as something called deep focus, and determine how they all relate to each other.

We then will examine how they often work together to capture intentional (and incredible) moments in film.

Deep Space Composition DEFINITION

What is deep space composition?

Filmmakers use deep space when significant elements in a scene are positioned both near and far from the camera. These elements do not have to be in focus.

Unlike, deep focus, defined by elements both near and far from the camera in focus.

Citizen Kane's famous deep focus scenes are still some of the best examples of how knowing the rules of shot composition can help you tell a deeply personal story.

In this scene, deep space composition positions the characters at different depths, while all four stay in focus.

The different depths are indicative of what is going on with each character. The little boy appears far away, but in frame, to remind us that he is going to be out of the picture soon, once they send him away.

Deep Space and Focus Citizen Kane

While Citizen Kane uses depth composition techniques to tell its story, Nightcrawler, does the same with a focus on character relations.

Lou and Nina in Nightcrawler

With Lou positioned far from the camera and Nina stationed a bit closer, we see deep space at work. This separation from each other highlights their different personalities.

One has pure motives. The other...not so much.

With a large depth of field we also see that the TVs are lit up, and in focus. Revealing Lou's priority is television, or his job.

Film Composition

Wrapping up the rules of composition

Like we said before, the rules of composition are more like suggestions. They are meant to guide and assist, not to limit or prohibit. There are many instances when you really should obey the rules of composition, and other times when breaking them is ideal.

A filmmaker like Dan Gilroy and a film like Nightcrawler are great examples of how to play with the rules of composition. This is what happens when an artist truly knows their medium.

Up Next

The Essential Guide to Depth of Field

Mastering depth of field is only possible with a complete understanding of it. Learn more from this ultimate guide to start creating incredibly dynamic shots. Dive deeper with practical examples.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Empathizing an Anti-Hero With Shot Composition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A dive into the rules of shot composition to create emotion in the audience. Useful techniques to frame essential context and engage viewer.

# data[].attributes.body
When working on a budget, it's important to create reasonable goals. A simple DSLR camera can do a lot, but there are advantages to using a more expensive film camera. Using a more high-end camera can help eliminate certain post-production editing, so if you are using a cheaper camera you may want to allocate more time to post production.

# data[].attributes.body
The method of recording an image should match the camera's method of creating it. Using improper formatting could prevent you from getting the most out of your camera. That said, recording at too high of a quality can lead to extremely large files.

Compression can be a key factor in saving space, while still managing to maintain a specific look. Compression will reduce some of the quality in a video, but it will make it much more manageable when trying to export or transfer video footage.

# data[].attributes.body
The lens is often times the most expensive part of a camera, being even more expensive than the camera body itself. What makes it so important?

Different types of lenses offer vastly different looks. Some lenses only come with one focal length, which is the distance at which a lens can view. This is often a cheaper option than a lens that is able to adjust to multiple focal lengths.

Typically, it is a good idea to keep your lens zoomed out as far as possible to create depth. When you zoom a lens in further, it causes the image to appear flat. This can be used to your advantage as a cinematographer if that is a look that you are going for.

# data[].attributes.body
One of the best ways to create depth of field is to adjust the aperture. High aperture allows less light into the camera, but it causes more of the frame to be in focus at a time. Low aperture allows lots of light in, but causes images outside of the main focus to drop off and become blurry. Using low aperture can be a great way to draw the viewer away from something to look at something else.

# data[].attributes.body
The shutter speed is what dictates how long the lens is exposed to light. Leaving the shutter on a higher speed will cause less blur in images, but does not allow much light in. On the other hand, slower speeds let in lots of light, but require a steady hand to keep the image from becoming blurry. Both aspects can be used to a cinematographer's advantage depending on the situation.

# data[].attributes.body
Lighting isn't just affected by the settings on the camera. One of the best ways to discern a novice cinematographer from a pro, is how good the lighting is. I could create an entire Padlet just on the effects of lighting, but just understand that it is essential to a good film.

Lighting looks much different on a camera as it does in real life. Using professional lighting equipment to create an illusion of natural light through a window is a good example of this. A good cinematographer understands the theory behind lighting for the camera and will adjust accordingly to evoke a specific emotion from the audience.

# data[].attributes.body
Something that film allows us to do that photography can not is making use of camera movement. It adds a completely different dimension to your movie which did not exist before. Lack of camera movement can also be a useful tool, as staying on a still shot for an extended period of time could evoke a certain feeling.

# data[].attributes.body
Camera movement can be a great way to show that something in the frame itself is moving. You never want to take the audience out of the movie and have them remember that they are watching something through a camera, so it's important to be careful when it comes to camera movement.

Using quick and jarring movements can create a POV feel, where the viewer is seeing what is happening through someone's eyes.

Another good example of a moving shot would be a steady pan across a city or setting, to help the viewer understand where the story takes place.