I recently learned about composition… And “wow” what a struggle it was. To begin with, I was unaware that there was still more to learn about film. But to my surprise, there was (sort of sarcasm). It seemed like creating a film was something that never ended… It began with mise-en-scene, lighting, shot scales, and many more. But now one of the most confusing parts of film creation, composition (at least for me). The composition of a film includes many different aspects. But revolves mainly around the idea of the frame of the image and the elements of the mise-en-scene which appear in it. For example, one of the more difficult aspects to understand was the idea of the “Rule of Thirds.” Obviously, not the actual concept of splitting the screen into three imaginary sections horizontally and vertically and placing the main subject of the image in the intersections, but the importance of it. As a person who was never interested in photography, I never realized the difference between a centralized image compared to one following the rule of thirds. However, with the help of my teacher, it is starting to clear up. I am beginning to understand the importance of character placement/ positioning and the different effects which they provide. However, other than that I am pretty secure when it comes to character proxemics and staging positions. For example, character proxemics includes intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. Each distance places a certain amount of space between the subjects. Starting from touching to almost 20 feet away. And staging positioning includes full-front, quarter turn, profile, three-quarter turn, and back to the camera. The different staging positions provide different amounts of intimacy with the audience which assists in creating a familiar environment with the people watching, as well as providing the audience with a sense of realism. In addition to these aspects, the composition also includes shot scale, density, contrast, framing, form, etc. All these aspects work together to develop the overall composition of the film. As for contrast, there are dominant contrasts which refer to the first thing you see in an image and subsidiary contrasts which is the second thing you see in an image. Density is dependent on the amount of visual information is being displayed. And form and framing refer to the setting and the staging positioning of the characters. For example, framing refers to the looseness or tightness of the frame. Whether the people have enough space to move without disappearing out of the frame. Whereas form refers to open or closed. This is more of the setting in the actual scene. Whether the setting is cluttered and gives the subjects no room to roam or the subjects are in open areas and are free to roam.
I bet you thought I was done… but we still have shapes and lines, density, balance, depth, lead space, aspect ratio, and shot scale. You may be thinking how in the word can a shape be used to create meaning. Well, shapes can create balance and unity in a frame, as well as create symbolism throughout the film. Lines can create visual motion by directing your eyes to the importance of the scene. The density of a scene refers to the amount of visual information that is being provided. Depth is the how the background and foreground affect the scene. Lead space or lead room is the room/ space given to a person depending on the direction they may be staring at. Lead room provides a comfortable framing because it doesn’t seem as if the character is staring at the edge of the frame. Aspect ratio refers to the horizontal and vertical sides of the frame and there relation to one another and the screen they are placed on.
All in all, the composition refers to the mise-en-scene’s elements and how they affect the film.
Function Films 