Transcripts
1. Class Introduction: Creating Cinematic
Compositions doesn't need to be complicated. You don't need complex grids. Guides, or some magic formula
for Effective storytelling. In this class, I'm going to
clear some things up for you. Making the process of creating compositions that much easier. Having goals within
photography and Cinematography that are actually
tangible and achievable. I'm Sean Dykink. I've worked in the field of
Filmmaking since 2005. And I had hours of experience analyzing compositions and how they contribute to storytelling. This class is all about Framing and
Composition and how to implement compositional
techniques to effectively tell a story. Whether you're an
aspiring photographer or cinematographer with
some experience or maybe no experience. This class is for you. You will learn where to begin
when it comes to Framing and composing shot strategies for effective
storytelling in gain a deeper understanding
of some of these compositional rules that you may have heard of before. By the end of this class, you'll be armed with
a practical strategy when it comes to approaching, Framing and Composition
for storytelling. So with that, let's
dive into the class
2. Class Project: Thanks so much for
taking this class. I'm very excited
that I get to be part of your Filmmaking journey. Let's talk about the
project for this class. Really, your project can be as complex or as simple
as you'd like. Shoot a photo, shoot
multiple photos, create a short three
shot sequence. Just makes sure to demonstrate the learned material and
include where possible, the thought process
behind your project. One thing to keep in
mind is that many of the lessons will prompt
lesson exercises, and even those
individual exercises can contribute to
your class project. For example, this short
time-lapse is from lesson Eights exercise and could be used as
my class project. And again, this does not
need to be at timelapse. It could just be a single image. Not every class exercise needs
to be a big masterpiece. But if you are inspired by a class exercise and you want to create a class
project out of that. And I would encourage
you to do so. You're gonna get better at Filmmaking when you
go out and do it. So the more you put into the
lessons and overall class, the more you're
going to benefit. Filmmaking exercises don't
need to be some masterpiece. It can be as simple
as working on Framing and Composition using your smartphone and
just taking photos. This brings me to what
you're going to need. If you have a camera that can record a video, that's great. Any camera will do
your video camera, your DSLR, a phone. When I'm inspired to figure
out some sort of idea, or I have a frame I want to test out and I don't
have a camera and not even my phone to
just use my fingers as frames and record the
images in my mind, the best camera to shoot with is the one
you have with you. Even if that means you've
got to use your hands to create frames like the
great Steven Spielberg. It's important to have
FUN while learning. So don't take yourself
too seriously and try to enjoy the process. If you're not enjoying it, take a break and come back to it with a fresh perspective or a
specific goal in mind. I'm not going to prompt
exercises every single lesson, but that doesn't mean you
can't go out and test out these theories and
techniques as we go. It's never a waste of time. These lessons are exercises. It's going to expedite
your experience and propel you into becoming
a better Filmmaking. So I would strongly
encourage you to get is practical and hands-on
as you possibly can. Because the more you put in with anything really, the more
it's got to pay off. With that being said, let's
jump into our first lesson.
3. Visual Communication: It can be difficult
to decide what visual secrete for the
story you're telling. And there's so many different
factors involved in how an audience interprets what
they see on the screen. And some of those visuals can be more effective
than others. So in this lesson,
we're going to explore some broad criteria for how to approach visual communication
through cinematography. And yes, it's not that
much of a surprise. Telling the story
is what matters. And that's means what
should be guiding our cinematography. And really any aspect
within filmmaking. When approaching a shot, ask yourself, what am I trying to communicate
through the shot? And you can communicate a number of things through
cinematography. The shock could be
directing your eye to a particular character or
object within the frame, perhaps communicating
the importance of this person or think. The shortcuts simply reveal the geographical
location of a scene, showing us where part
of the story takes place and help create context. A shock can also
reveal character who they are, their
point of view, and this extends into their relationship
with other characters and their status and power. A shock can also
help communicate major themes in
Saving Private Ryan, a big theme that runs
through the entirety of the film is the tragedy of war. This is exemplified through
camera movement, film stock, the shutter speed, and a number of other cinematic elements. A shot can also
communicate information that may draw out a
number of emotions. The movie zodiac,
that would be fear. This particular scene
manipulates the feelings of the audience towards
our protagonist and this secondary character, the list goes on. So to keep things simple,
and in my opinion, the shot that tells
a story best, that is the most
effective and that can be kinda vague and a bit
frustrating possibly. But in this class, we're going to dive more into the specifics of what
that really means. And through some theory and
film-making techniques, I'm hoping it's gonna be a
lot easier to grasp this. So here's a super simple example that I filmed that
I'm hoping will illustrate this point
of thinking about what you want to
communicate through a shot. We have this guy
who's looking at his phone and we see that his bank balance is
not really there. We've probably all been there. The stress of not having money. Okay, so yes, nothing too crazy. But this is part of the class. We want to film as many of these little
shot sequences as possible. So we can continue to experiment with different
storytelling ideas, different compositions,
different types of shots. So really it all comes down
to just this one shot. This is the reason why
I wanted to film this because I kinda
like this area of our house and kinda thought that the bar is almost
resembled the prison. That led me to start
thinking about themes around that feeling
of being trapped. And I thought, well, what
is one thing that a lot of people feel trapped by
the lack of finances. I thought, I'm going
to illustrate that feeling just through
a short sequence. Now whether this
idea really comes across to you, the viewer, it all starts with
that intention, with that idea of what you want to communicate
through the shot. The next step is to identify
the point of interest. The point of interests
is the visual element or elements in a shot
that are meant to draw the attention
of the viewer. It doesn't necessarily
need to be one individual point
with the frame. It can be multiple points. And in this shot's
case, it's a number of things to
communicate, an idea, to communicate this theme of feeling constrained
and trapped. So yes, of course
I'm trying to use the vertical bars
of the handrails. And then also I'm trying
to make use the colors, the cooler outdoor light contrasted with the light
coming from another room. And placing myself outside of that warm glow in the
cooler hues tells his own story because
the cooler hues can indicate more stark imagery
or in this context, symbolize some sort
of isolation and including the depth of
the background with the table and empty chairs and flowers on the table
also gives this kind of interesting imagery
where the audience can come up with their own
ideas of what that means. But I do like the emptiness
of the chairs and how that could add to
this isolation, the framing, and
the proximity of where I'm placed in relation
to the edge of the frame. Fuels constraining in itself. There's not a whole
lot of headroom here, and it can create
that feeling of tension and unease
for the viewer. And then finally, we have these
diagonal lines which help guide the eye through the
frame from element to element. So all of these
elements I'm trying to use to help tell the story. Now of course, these are just
the storytelling decisions I'm making and my intention of how I want this particular shot to hit the audience doesn't mean
it's actually going to work, but at least the intention and the
justification is there. Just as important as the point of interests
of the frame is the points within
the frame where you don't want your
audience to look. So when I was first
experimenting with the kind of framing I
wanted for this shot, I had originally had this super wide shot and obviously I didn't
use it because, well, there's a lot
going on in this frame and a lot of
unnecessary points of interest where the
audience can lose their focus of what
the story is about. But because I knew
what I wanted to communicate within the shot and where I wanted the audience to look or the
point of interest, I was able to crop in, cut out all the distractions
and more narrowly guide the audience's attention to those intended
points of interest. Knowing what your point of interest is is going to help you determine where to even begin
when framing your shot. And the point of
interest, of course, doesn't need to be
this complicated. It could simply be
this shot here. The point of interest is
to show the bank balance. It's clearly to give context to what the
character is looking at. And my goal was to be
as clear as possible with this therefore
background, It's all blurred. I mean, even if I wanted to cut into the shot even closer, I could justify that. So it's purely met to reveal more of the
story to the audience. The point of interests
helps engage your audience and understand where they should be looking
within the frame, which helps them in turn, understand what's happening
within the story, both on a logical level and
a emotional, somatic level. And what do you do a
really good job at that, you can evoke emotion
within the audience. And I'm not saying that this sequence is evoking
any type of emotion. But so long as you approach
cinematography and your sequence of shots with these intentions
and goals in mind, That's really all you can do. Your hope is that within the frame and
even within the edit, that your ideas get
across to the audience in the intended way that they interpret it in the
way that you intended. That's all you can do. If you want to go out
and start filming right away and experiment
with your own point of interests and communicating theme and context and
ideas through your shots. Do that for sure. And another very
accessible exercise is to pay attention to the shows or movies that you're watching. Think about what each shot
is trying to communicate. Where are the points of
interests within the frame? And think about where
your eye is naturally drawn and where you think that the filmmaker
wants you to look within the frame and do
those things match up. And this is shot telling the
story in an effective way. So to recap, there are
so many different things who can communicate
through cinematography. You want to communicate what's happening plot wise
in your story. So it's easy for the audience to understand what's going
on within the frame. Think about contexts. Think about your characters. Think about themes,
the overall point of the shot you're
trying to achieve. And once you know
what you're trying to communicate from shot to shot, consider how the point
of interests that can contribute to
communicating that idea. So in the next
lesson, we're going to define some terms and discuss the difference between
framing and composition.
4. The Difference Between Framing and Composition: In this lesson, we're going
to define some terms. So we're on the same page. Framing and Composition
go hand in hand, but are also somewhat different. I consider the frame, the bounds in which
we're able to see so we can move
the frame around. We can move those four
walls of the frame around. But the frame itself doesn't change unless of course we're
changing the aspect ratio, but that's an entirely
different conversation. So that's the frame. Composition, on the other hand, includes all the visual elements within the frame and the
relationship to each other. So how far apart they
are from each other. And that includes the
of the frame itself, how far apart the objects are from the bound of the frame. And we can adjust the frame and move it around to change
that relationship. But we can also just simply move the visual elements
within the frame. To our liking. The frame or the balance
of the image and the composition is the visual
elements within the frame. So now that you
understand the Difference Between Framing and Composition, it's time to learn
where to start when it comes to Framing and
imposing an actual shot.
5. Creating Effective Compositions: Effective Cinematography begins with Framing and Composition. When trying to learn more about Cinematography
and photography, you probably noticed
that there's a lot of different rules and grids that people tell
you you should use. But they don't really go
into good reasons as to why. It's on the next few lessons,
I'm gonna do my best to demystify some of
these rules so that you can more practically apply these ideas and theories
to your own Compositions. The first most common
of these rules is known as the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is
typically defined as a tool to create visually appealing
or pleasing Compositions. Now, I'm not completely
sold on this, and I think I'd like to
try to redefine this rule. And in order for us to do this, we need to go to
where the rule began. The rule of thirds was addressed
by John Thomas Smith in 17 97 in his book titled
remarks on rural scenery. And he refers to a work
by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Reynolds talks about, but
not entirely clearly, the balance of dark and
light and a painting, John Thomas Smith
then expands on this idea and officially
names it the rule of thirds. This quote directly
from his book. Two distinct equal lights should never appear
in the same picture. One should be principal
and the rest subordinate. Both in dimension and degree. Unequal parts and gradations
lead the attention easily from part two part while
parts of equal appearance, well that awkwardly
suspended as if unable to determine
which of those parts is to be considered as
the subordinate and to give the utmost force and
solidity to your work. Some part of the
picture should be as light and some as
dark as possible. These two extremes
are then to be harmonized and reconciled
to each other. And although the wording
can be a bit challenging, my main takeaway is
that the rule of thirds is meant to guide the eye easily from one part of the
frame to the other without the viewer feeling conflicted as to
what to look at. So the rule of thirds breaks up an image into two equally spaced horizontal lines and two
equally spaced vertical lines. So we're breaking up
the image into thirds. The points of most importance
in your image are meant to be placed on the intersecting
points of each line, and these are known
as PowerPoints. And remember what John
Thomas Smith's said, unequal parts lead the attention easily from part two part. So if I film this
landscape shot and organize the sky and
the land equally. So 50% of the images sky, 50% of the images land, then each portion is equal
and competing for attention. If I simply reorganize the
frame in unequal parts, either filling the landscape within the bottom two-thirds, or even filling the sky
within the upper two-thirds. I've now created some
visual hierarchy. And this organization can also make use of the vertical thirds. So rather than simply composing visual elements directly into
the center of the frame, we can now make use
of the rule of thirds to create dynamic Compositions. Our eyes now have more of
a reason to dance around an image rather than be guided
directly to the center. Based on the way I
look at this image, I can see how some
of this is true, but some of it's more nuanced. Every image has its own
unique characteristics that may or may not benefit looking at it strictly through the lens
of the rule of thirds. Now I'm not suggesting that
you just follow this rule blindly when you start out in photography or
Cinematography. I think it's important
to understand what the rule of thirds is. But more importantly,
I think you need to understand the why behind it. And I would redefine
the rule of thirds as organizing the frame,
creating some hierarchy. And why would that be important? Well, my thought behind
it is if I can structure the frame and the
visual elements or my points of interest, I have a better chance
of success in getting the audience to understand
what they're looking at, where they're supposed to look, and any meaning behind
the composition itself. So let's take a look
at the bridge example again and try to
apply this reasoning. Understand the deeper why behind the rule of thirds or better
yet, organizing our frame. The point of interest
is this bridge. And yes, the city's skyline is also a secondary interesting
point to this image. But if we know what the
point of interests is, then we can use the
rule of thirds to help, assist in bringing
more focus and attention to our
points of interests. So organizing this bridge
shot with a two-thirds of the sky versus the
two-thirds of the landscape. In my opinion, I think the sky looks a bit better
aside from the leading lines, it doesn't really contribute
anything to the shot. It's more distracting
in my opinion because I'm trying to
figure out what how are these fences or hay bales and what do they have to
do with the shot itself? So it kinda takes a bit
more away from the photo, then actually provide any
useful information to it. Of course, in some
way you can argue for this shot if you were to create a sequence
of shots with say, people sliding down the hill on toboggan or something like that, it would make
a lot more sense. But in the context of this shot, I feel that having more of
the sky and the shot works better because there's
less detail in the sky. Thus a leading your
eye to the landscape, the bridge, and the
skyline itself. And then centering the image
also doesn't quite work because of all the information around our point of interest. This external
information almost takes away from what we're
trying to focus on. And I think the
centered image can be improved by simply zooming in or cropping out all of
the things within our composition that we don't want the
viewer to focus on. If you disagree with me,
that's totally fine. I'm just encouraging you
to at least be able to justify why you're using
the rule of thirds. Understand the deeper why of
how you compose an image. So to recap, the
rule of thirds is a way of dividing up
an image into thirds, both horizontally
and vertically. And to quote John Thomas Smith, unequal parts and gradations lead the attention easily
from part two part, in my own words, this
to me means creating some visual organization and hierarchy more easily
guiding the eye, throat and the image. Now of course, I think it's okay to use the rule of thirds. You can use the rule
of thirds guide on your camera to
compose a shot. But I also am going
to urge you to turn that rule of
thirds guide off. Try to compose a shot
without using it. Try to think about the deeper
reason why are using it. And to me that means creating organization within
your compositions. In the next lesson, we're
going to dive deeper into demystifying
Compositional Rules
6. Demystifying Compositional Rules: In this lesson,
we're going to dive deeper into Compositional Rules. And I'm going to do my best
to demystify them for you so that you have more
creative control over your Compositions. To clarify, when I use
the word demystify, it's not the same as debunk. Demystify means to make clear, to make something
easier to understand. So my hope is that
when we explore these compositional
rules and guidelines, I'm going to help
you understand the deeper why behind
why we choose it. So you're not just
blindly following this rule because some
article or someone on the internet hold
you that it was essential to becoming
a good photographer or cinematographer. I want to talk a bit
more on PowerPoints. So the PowerPoints
are where the lines intersect and it's considered
a place of visual poll. And that you should place important visual elements on
these intersecting lines. And from what I understand, there's not really
any good explanation to these PowerPoints. I don't really exactly
know where they came from. Why would you follow a guide if there's no good reason to? Well, there might
be good reason. And a common thought here. I'm not the only one
thinking this is that these intersecting
lines could be considered a simplified version of what's known as
the golden ratio. Bear with me here. The golden ratio, also known as the golden mean or
the golden section, is a mathematical
concept that describes a ratio of approximately
one to 1.618. This ratio is often used in Art and Design as well
as in photography. And it's used to create
compositions that are aesthetically
pleasing to the eye. The golden ratio is thought to be aesthetically
pleasing because it is found in many naturally
occurring patterns and shapes in nature. And the most famous example is the spiral shape
of the seashell. The golden ratio can be used to compose a picture by
dividing the frame into a grid with horizontal
and vertical lines that are spaced according
to the golden ratio. This grid is called
the Phi grid, and it's named after
the Greek letter Phi, which is used to represent
the golden ratio in mathematical equations
by using a Phi grid, photographer can use the
golden ratio to create a composition that is balanced
and pleasing to the eye. So a lot of the
arguments that support the golden ratio are that it's pleasing to the eye
because it's found in nature. So I don't know if that's
good enough argument, but it is another
tool that we can use to experiment when
creating compositions. There are many other rules that come along with composition in addition to the
rule of thirds and the golden
ratio or Phi grid, things become even more complex and there are even
more rules than this. An interesting experiment
is to layer all of these different grids
on top of each other. And you'll see that any one of these intersecting
points may hit important aspects of
the Composition and certain imagery made some way
follow one of these rules, whether intended or not. Of course, I'm
taking these rules out of contexts somewhat. It's more of a FUN
experiment to test out. I'm not saying you shouldn't use these rules or apply these rules to your
own compositions. What I'm urging you
to do is not to follow these rules blindly. If you're going to use
a compositional rule, try to figure out the deeper
why behind it and don't lean on because it's pleasing to the eye or because
it's found in nature, try to discover the deeper
practical use behind it. So for example, in
our previous lesson, we talked about the rule
of thirds and how it creates organization
in hierarchy, making it easier for the viewer to look between the
different points of interests that helped
them decipher the story on the screen and how they should feel about
the image itself. An example from Mad Max Fury
Road, look at the shot. The horizon line is very
low within the frame, and this shot
doesn't particularly follow any Compositional Rules. The story that's being
told here is that our characters are super
small within the frame. Illustrating how
large this storm is. The contrast between the size of these visual elements
creates more fear, anxiety, and tension for the audience
experiencing the scene. But then again, you can argue for any one of these
Compositional Rules. The point is to craft the shot
that best tells the story. If that includes
using some rules to help assist in
crafting those shots, and it works for the story. Then great. You've successfully
used the tool rather than forcing it into
your Compositions. So to recap, we
have a handful of compositional grids that
we can use as a guide. But remember, we use
the guide to help tell the story rather than fit
the story to the guide. Now of course, I'm
going to encourage that you understand
why you're using a specific
compositional rule and how that affects the
story you're telling. But we can also
start with the rule. And then later on, figure out
how that affects the story. Tweak from there and reshoot, tweak from their experiment. Try things out. I've made these
overlays available for download so you
can pop them into your own preferred video or photo editor to do
some experimentation. Continued to iterate. Continue to question why you're making the compositional
choices you're making. It's a slow progression. It will take time, but have FUN because this
is supposed to be PFK-1. It's FUN to experiment with
these different rules and see how they might affect the
story that you're telling. Let's improve our
compositions even more by exploring the
concept of Balance
7. Visual Balance: A key concept that
cinematographers consider within every composition is balanced and Balance can create
harmonious images, thus creating more
Effective Compositions. And it can contribute to story. Ballots refers to
the arrangement of visual elements within a composition that
creates a sense of equilibrium and harmony. A composition is
considered Balance when these various visual elements
have equal visual poll. We can use these duplo blocks to illustrate this in
a very simple way. This setup is visually balanced. When we take away some of these elements on
the left-hand side, our gaze is pulled a more
toward the right-hand side. Trading unbalanced composition. A balanced image can create order and organization
to your Frame, making it easier to view the points of interest
within your composition. And creating a sense of ease
when viewing the image. On the other hand,
an unbalanced image can be disordered
and disorganized, creating tension and
uneasiness for the viewer. But this can mean a lot more
depending on the context. One way to think about
Balance is to imagine a fulcrum with weights
on either side, the left and right
sides of an image. And there visual elements
act as the weights. Each element has its
own visual pole, and the amount of
pole determines how heavy that visual element
is within the frame. There are a number
of factors that contribute to visual Balance. And to simplify
this explanation, I'm gonna be using very
basic onscreen graphics. The size of the object. Larger objects have more visual weight
than smaller objects. The position of an object. Objects that are closer to the edge of the frame can appear heavier than elements that
may be slightly off-center. Color. Vibrant colors have
more weight than dull colors. Warmer colors have a bit more
weight than cooler colors. And if we're thinking
more black and white, then the darker tones have more visual weight
than lighter ones. But also it's important
to keep in mind the contrast that's created by juxtaposing bright
and dark portions of an image because those also have their
own visual weight. Then we have texture
and pattern, and texture and pattern can maybe technically fall
into our other categories. But because these
attributes can be so easily identifiable,
it's worth mentioning. Large areas featuring
smoother texture, can Balance, say a smaller, more detailed texture are eye is attracted to more intricate
lines and details because we, as humans are pattern seekers, naturally looking for and completing patterns
within nature and life. And this has been a
means of survival. So the pull on these smaller textured areas
can greatly attract the eye. Leading lines. Simply put our lines that
appear within images and again, our eyes naturally will follow these lines within an image. And these lines can
guide the eye in different directions and
contribute to visual Balance. A subtype of leading
lines are suggested leading lines where they are
not perceptible but implied. So in this example, I'm going to speak to another character offscreen,
right over there. Hey buddy. Hey, hey. So you can see in this
example, my gaze, or where I'm looking
towards Sean off screen is creating a
suggested leading line. And the negative space, this is adjusted leading line. My body language, where my
body's position in facing is helping balance
out this otherwise asymmetrical image.
That's right. And when cutting between
the two of these shots, it gives a comfortable amount of space between the
two characters. Yep. And don't forget
that this is also called Conversation
Space or lead room. If we were to be closer
to the edge of the frame, it would create a
lot more tension, totally, which we're going to explore a bit more
in the next lesson. Yep, neither of these of
frames are necessarily wrong. They just tell
different stories. He's right. And a lot of the things
that catch our eyes, such as things that are in-focus,
people, animals, faces. These visual elements
have a lot more poll. Because Balance can be such
a tricky thing to maneuver. I want you to
simply keep in mind these visual elements as
you go about your day. Again, you don't need to have your camera on you to do this. You can simply
Frame a location or seeing with your eyes and
Framing with your hands, or simply just identify these different
visual attributes within your surroundings. And if you do every
camera with you, frame up the shot and
consider the weight and attention each
element demands. So to recap, thinkable Balance and a left
to right fashion when the visual elements
on the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame are evenly weighted. You've achieved Balance. And again, don't worry, it's
not like an all or nothing, either your balanced or not. It's not going to be
perfect, but that's okay. Use your best judgment. Practice makes progress. In this Talking Eds setup, I would say we're not perfect. It's probably leaning a bit
further over to this side. And that's okay. There are a lot of visual attributes that
contribute to ballots. Size, position, color,
tone, contrast, texture, pattern, leading lines, and really anything that
is eye-catching. Balance is an
important concept to keep in mind when
you're composing shots. But remember some of this
is subjective if you're not gonna get a perfectly
balanced shot all the time. So don't try to be
perfect about it. Experiment, have FUN
that remember to think about how your Compositions
tell the story. And I would even
suggest that you create an intentionally
unbalanced image to see what story that tells. In the next lesson, we're
going to discuss more on Balance and some strategies
on how to achieve it.
8. Achieving Balance: To help you better understand Balance within your own visuals, I'm gonna go over the different
types of balanced and also provides more examples
within this lesson. There are two types of Balance, symmetrical
and asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance is where the compositional elements
are arranged equally on either side of the central axis while achieving an
overall visual harmony. This type of Balance is mostly
seen in Centered shots of characters or environments or
objects with mirror image, this is also a much
easier balance to achieve within your Imagery. A balanced image can create a sense of peace
and tranquility, which can be used to convey
a sense of calm or serenity, or that feeling of everything
is in its right place. And this is even more emphasized when using
symmetrical balance. Asymmetrical balance occurs when the elements are not
evenly distributed on each side of the center
of the frame while still achieving an
overall visual harmony. And in this type of balance, the elements may be
arranged in a way that creates a sense of
visual tension, but still maintains a
sense of balance overall. This type of Balance
is often seen where characters are having a
conversation with one another. Like in this scene, we have this character on the
left side of the frame, talking to a
character off-screen on the right side of the frame, the negative space and
the suggested leading line balances each of
these compositions. And it also can be achieved by using over the
shoulder shots with the dirty end of the frame with their shoulder,
balancing the image. Asymmetrical balance is also very common within interviews. And again, we have the
talking space or suggested leading line that is balancing this
asymmetrical composition. And there's a bit
more to lead room and talking space than just creating balance and
comfortable amount of room Between two characters. It also has to do with
creating spatial continuity. The space can help the
viewer better understand where each element is
roughly within the scene. These suggested leading lines
don't necessarily need to be strictly contain two people, but it could also be buildings. Just the way of
building is facing can justify at asymmetrical shot. Asymmetrical balance is also
commonly achieved by using background elements or other
elements placed off-center. And interesting
experiment is to take some of these wide
shots were films. And we can erase some of
the visual elements on one side of the screen
and see how that feels. In this case, now, it feels off balance without this element up
here to the right. It is much more
challenging to achieve asymmetrical balance
because you're relying on color, bright, and dark values
along with texture and subject matter to weigh
each side of the frame, which in some ways
can be subjective. So the goal of asymmetrical or symmetrical balance is to create equal visual poll throughout the frame to create
a harmonious image. And why do you want harmony? While harmony creates order and organization
within the frame without creating the tension that an unbalanced image does, we're able to look at
the various points of interests within a
composition with ease. But that doesn't mean you can't
treat unbalanced Imagery. And especially in
the show Mr. robot, they use unbalanced
images all the time. This is a deliberate
choice which also mimics our main character, Eliot's in our world, he's on the edge of society, a bit of an outcast. So this type of Cinematography makes sense for a
show like this, placing him on the outer
edges of the frame and increasing the tension and
uneasiness for the viewer. Typically, the closer
visual elements are to the edge of the frame, the more tension you're going to feel when viewing that element. And of course, the suggested
leading lines can increase that tension if they're also moving toward the
edge of the frame. Here's a quick framework to help you within this
lesson's exercise. When I approach a location, I will look for visual
elements that contribute to either symmetrical or
asymmetrical balance. This helps me determine
how I might approach a location and provide
possible shot ideas. And the majority of the time
you're gonna get a mix of both asymmetrical and
symmetrical balance depending on your angle choices, architecture, a variety of different characteristics of your location and
the Storytelling. With symmetrical balance is
easy to center the subject or the overall scene and mostly
get a harmonious image. Approaching asymmetrical
balance is tricky, but with our previous lessons,
visual weight examples, it makes it a bit
easier to discern where the visual weight
within the frame might have the greatest hole and will help inform you
on how to re-frame to create balance or physically rearranged the
compositional elements. So try not to think
about Balance as either balanced
or unbalanced. It's kind of on a sliding
scale in some cases, because all of the
visual elements on the screen are going to attract different people's
eyes in different ways. So it's a bit subjective. Also have this innate sense. When we see something
balanced or not, you're probably going to
be automatically composing a shot to where it
feels balanced to you. But this comes with
a lot of practice. You're gonna have to
hone your skills. You're gonna have to experiment with different types of Balance. And then later on, review the footage or
photographs and decide, did I achieve the
balance that I want it? And is that Balance or non Balance contributing
to the story I'm telling? So to recap, Balance is a crucial concept when
creating imagery, and it can help you create
harmony within your images. There's two types of Balance, symmetrical balance and
asymmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance
relies more on even centered images
or mirrored images, whereas asymmetrical
balance can be a bit more dynamic and create a
bit more visual tension, but still maintains a
sense of balance overall. Consider your location and other elements within
the frame that contribute to symmetrical or asymmetrical balance from their, consider how you can compose your shots
to create balance, or even intentionally put
things off of balance. In the next lesson,
I'm going to help you understand how to create
depth within your images.
9. Depth of Frame: On-screen visuals are often
projected onto a 2D plane, such as this one right here. This can leave us with some
flat and uninspired images. But there are some
things we can do to create more depth
within our images. So in this lesson,
we're going to discuss how to create depth in your visuals to provide a more immersive experience
for your audience. Depth of frame refers to taking a two-dimensional
image and making it appear as if it's
three-dimensional. So taking a shot that
looks very flat, such as this one,
with some work, we can make it look like
it has more depth to it. Like we can jump into the
screen or reach our hand into the screen and be
part of the environment. And creating depth really
creates that realistic, immersive experience
for an audience. And this can be
very important for your story because it can put your audience into
that state of film. Watching hypnosis, where
you suspend your disbelief. They're immersed into the
visuals on the screen. And in turn, that can help
create a greater chance of success for your story
and its purpose. To create depth in a shot, it's important to begin with creating layers
within the frame. This means creating a
distinct foreground, midground, and background, which creates a dynamic and immersive experience
for the audience. This also makes it easier
for the audience to understand what visual element they should be focusing on. And in the next lesson, we're going to explore
some strategies to create that depth within
your cinematography.
10. Creating Immersive Imagery: Now that you understand up
the frame and its importance, it's time to learn some strategies for
creating immersive imagery. Start with depth of field. Depth of field refers to exactly what is in
focus within a shot, opening up the
aperture and trading a shallower depth of field helps separate me
from the background, creating more distinct layers. Filming the scene with
a deep depth of field that brings our attention
to every layer at once. In this shot's case, you can see that
all our foreground, midground, and background
elements are in focus. They're all squashed together. So when adjusting the
depth of field that we can zero in on the
focus of this shot, helping guide the viewer's eye to what is most important
within the frame. Also a pro tip here. If you want even more
shallow depth of field, hold your camera
bag and zoom in. When you zoom in, it compresses the
elements in the frame. Treating a smaller
depth of field. Perspective literally means the way you
look at something. This can refer to a camera's
angle to a particular scene. For example, it's common
when starting out within filmmaking or photography
to compose shots. Head on. This clearly shows the subject
in frame, but lacks depth. That head-on shot results in horizontal and vertical lines which can communicate stability. And this might just be fine
for this type of shot. These horizontal and
vertical lines can also act as pathways
for the eye, which might guide our eye left or right or up and down
throughout the frame, but it does lack
the desired depth. So adjusting your
perspective by changing the angle of the shot can result in creating diagonal lines, which can be used to direct
the viewer's eye similarly to the horizontal and
vertical lines created in our previous example. However, now we are giving the illusion that
the I is traveling on the z axis with the
diagonal lines created. And this line leads our eye deeper into the
two-dimensional space, creating the illusion of depth. It's basically
paying attention to the leading lines within
your image and adjusting your angles so that
those leading lines are moving in diagonals. When filming points
of interests such as characters on screen
or in this example me, it's best to keep
them further away from the wall to create
distinct layers. I'm not going to be
sitting directly against the wall because
that's going to make it look like I'm part of the wall rather than
on a separate layer. If I pull myself further
away from the wall, I'm giving more
space and distance. It's between myself
and the wall, which gives a better chance of creating distinct
looking layers. You can also consider
dirty up your frame, which includes foreground
that is typically out of focus and filling
Passat foreground toward your point of interest. But one thing to keep in mind is that it needs
to suit the story. In this case, it doesn't
really look right. It looks like maybe
someone spying on me. Contrast can be created by composing bright
elements alongside dark. And this is why silhouette
shots can be so effective. These silhouette shots
appear to have more depth because of the differences
in bright and dark, we can clearly see that these
two things are different. And the greater the difference, the clearer the layers
stand out from each other, the higher points
of contrast within an image can be places of interest giving us
greater control over the audience's attention. Another less obvious way to
create depth is to use color. The reason this is less obvious is because
this usually requires the use of lights
are discovering locations containing
color contrast, which is obviously
a bit more rare. Take a look at this color wheel. You can see for yourself the various combinations of color that contrast each other. Again, the greater the contrast, the easier it is to
differentiate the layers giving the 2D image the
appearance of depth. So you can see here this
talking head setup. I've tried to create
color contrast with the warm tones and cool tones to create some
depth in this small space. In most circumstances, focusing
on creating depth within the frame will help immerse the audience deeper
into his story, effectively placing
greater importance on the story being told. But it's not
necessarily all about hitting every single
one of these guides. Story comes first
and flatter looking composition works best for
your story, and that's fine. Just remember to find ways to utilize these depth creating strategies to maintain an
immersive audience experience. Sometimes there are
various degrees of depth within each
composition we create when we can't access every
single technique to create maximum
depth of frame. So to recap, trading depth within your
compositions can turn the two-dimensional screen into an immersive,
three-dimensional experience. There are a number of
ways to create depth, focusing on creating multiple layers by including foreground, mid ground and
background elements. We can create more
distinct separation between these layers by
adjusting our depth of field. Making use of contrast both
within luminance and color. Making use of dynamic
camera angles to take those horizontal or vertical
lines into diagonal lines, guiding the viewer's eye
deeper within the image. And the most practical, which is to adjust the compositional elements
within your frame, separating them from each other, creating physical
space between them. And always consider
the story that you're telling when creating depth. In the next lesson,
I'm gonna give you one big tip that will help you better understand how to approach the lighting
you have available
11. How to Work With Available Light: There's many situations where you don't have time
to set up lights. It's not appropriate to
set up lights or you simply don't have access
to lighting equipment. But that's okay because
in this lesson, I'm going to teach you
one big thing that's going to help you
make the best use of delight you have available. So what's the trick? It's upstage lighting. Upstage lighting
originates from theatre. In theatre, upstage
lighting refers to any letting
that set, upstage. And upstage lighting can increase the contrast
in your Compositions, ultimately creating more
definition and depth. To understand upstage letting in the context of Filmmaking, we need to first look
at the line of action. The line of action is
that invisible line that connects two subjects. So in this example
you can see we have two characters on a couch
speaking with one another. And that line of action
is that imaginary line that connects the action
that's happening between them, which is them talking
to one another. The line of action
isn't limited to two characters that can be
Between really anything. So when you understand where
the line of action is, you can determine the
best placement for your camera in relation to
your main light source. So in this example here,
where do you think the best placement of
the camera would it be? Well, first, we
can identify where the main source of
light is right here. The more technical name for this main source of light
is called the key light. And then determine where
the line of action is. I'm engaging with this book. That would mean that
the line of action is between me and the book. So really any camera angle
on the opposite side of the key light and the
line of action is making use of upstage lighting. So we can fill
multiple camera angles on the opposite side of the key light and the line of action utilize upstage lighting. And the reason why upstage
lighting is so effective is because it increases the
contrast within the image, creating a shape and definition and separates the subject
from its background, essentially creating
depth, turning your 2D image into 3D image. So you can see that
the falloff of light goes from bright to dark. So we're essentially
filming into the shadow side of my face. Another way to understand
upstage lighting is to consider the placement of your camera in relation to your key light. The camera to subject access
needs to be perpendicular to the key light to
subject access in order to increase
shadow in shape. So you can see here
we're once again filming into the shadow side of my face, trading deeper contrast,
shaped, definition, and depth. Now, if I place my camera in the same direction as the
key light at the same angle. They're on the same axis. Pointing the camera
and the lighting in the same direction gives us a
flatter even looking Light. This doesn't
necessarily mean it's wrong, it's just different. And it helps you understand what techniques you need
to employ in order to create more definition
in shape or to pull back and create an even more
flat looking Light. Typically though, upstage
letting does look better and it looks more
as people say, cinematic. I have to note that
in this example, our background is also
helping create that contrast. So we do still get a
bit of depth here. Really, any angle on
the opposite side of the main light
source will help you create more depth to
your Compositions. So in other words, if the
cowardice subject axis aligns with the key
light to subject axis, we get this flat even Light. And as we start to move
the key light to subject axis perpendicular to the
camera to subject axis, then we get more definition, more depth, more contrast. So with this knowledge,
you can control the amount of contrast, definition and depth
within your shots, and use the Available Light in the way that suits
your project best. You may not want
dramatic lighting for corporate training video, but for a dramatic short film, this may make sense. So great exercise here is to simply pay attention to the movies and television
you're watching. Consider where the main source
of light is coming from in relation to the actors
and camera in the scene. And chances are
that the majority, if not all of the shots, will feature the key lights axis perpendicular to
the cameras axis. And notice with more
dramatic content, how the lighting can move
even further upstage. Also highly recommend grabbing
a friend and going out and testing out these methods for yourself or filming
herself like I did. And testing out these methods. Take a look at your
shots and take note of the position of your key
light relative to camera. What do you find that you prefer for the concept that
you're working on? So to recap, one of the best
and easiest ways to level up your lighting is to film
with your key light upstage. And in the context
of Filmmaking, this means you're filming on the opposite side
of the key light, or main source of light
and the line of action. Remember the line of action is that invisible
line that connects the action taking place
within the scene. Filming on the side
of the line of action where the key light is positioned will result in
flatter and even looking Light. A more simplified way in controlling the
amount of contrast, definition and depth within your imagery is to
consider the camera to subject axis in relation to
the key lights subject axis, keeping these axes perpendicular
will help create shape. When placing both these axes in the same direction or
parallel to each other, we get a flatter, more even looking image
12. Final Thoughts: Congratulations on
completing the class, and I hope you found this class helpful to put all of
the lessons together. Here's a final recap. When telling a story through your visuals is important
to ask yourself, what does this shot communicate? And of course, what is your intention behind
the shot itself? Are you trying to
provide context, reveal interesting
character traits, communicate larger themes. Tried to be as
specific as possible. Once you know what
you're going for, It's time to identify the points of interests within
your composition. Where do you hope the
viewer will look? Think about organizing the compositional elements
within your frame. We did talk about the
reasoning behind the rule of thirds and the Phi grid
or the golden section. And these grids can be
helpful in creating organization and hierarchy
to your Compositions. But more importantly,
consider how Balance can contribute to
harmonizing your image or adding levels of tension. And don't forget about creating depth within your imagery. Turning the 2D into 3D. If your audience feels
like they're in the scene, like they're there, this can help suspend their disbelief. And you can also use
the light you have available to help
increase that depth, increasing definition
and contrast, creating a cinematic look. And remember practice
makes progress. Have FUN, experiment and review your footage
or images later on, analyzing how the
Compositions you've created might tell a story. I'm looking forward to
senior class projects. And remember, this
does not need to be super fancy or complex. You can simply submit a photo that you shot on your phone. Of course, if you want to create a more complex project with a sequence of shots or a
short film or whatever. I encourage you to
do this as well. And I'll provide the best
constructive feedback I can. If you haven't already done so, please follow my profile
for new classes, updates, and
occasional giveaways. And please leave a review
or feedback as welcome as it helps me improve my
craft and serve you better. Thanks again for
taking the class. And remember, story
is your guide
Sean Dykink, Story is your guide
