COMPOSITION RULES

There are over 100 composition rules for film making. Each one of these can help portray your hypothesis, your meaning and enhance what you are trying to say through your film. The 10 most important rules are:

1. Different type of shot size
2. Camera position and angle
3. Camera movements
4. Lighting
5. Rule of thirds
6. Leading the eye
7. Colours
8. Shapes and lines
9. Detail arrangement in the frame
10. Editing styles

The main rules I will be using in my pop video are: rule of thirds, colours, leading the eye and camera position and angle.
Rule of thirds is all about where the audience looks to first on the screen subconsciously. It can be used to create negative or positive images of people. If a person is positioned predominantly at the top left corner of the screen they will be seen as good and the audience will begin to make positive inferences. Similarly, if a character is placed predominantly in the bottom right corner the audience will begin to make negative assumptions (I found this out from ‘Cinematic Storytelling’ by Jennifer Van Sijll).

To utilise this technique, in our pop video, every time the swat team are positioned in the frame or are moving into the frame they are on the right side so they are seen as the ‘bad guys’.
Colours, in terms of wardrobe, can be effectively used to portray personal characteristics or personality. We will be dressing the band in black and purple which connotes power, control and truthfulness which are exactly what the song and band image is all about.
Leading the eye is when something on the screen prompts you to look in a certain place or expect something in the next shot; for example if there is a shot of a field and a man gallops past on a horse, a logical following shot would be a close up of the man on the horse. We use this technique in the shot of the bass guitar fret while it is being played, this then cuts to the body of the bass guitar with the bassists other hand playing. The final main rule we will use is camera position and angle. The audience’s impression of a character can be completely altered by the angle from which they are shot. If they are shot from a slightly low angle they appear confident, but if the angle becomes too low they can come off as arrogant or intimidating.





If someone is filmed from a high angle they come across as weak and inferior.

In our pop video we will shoot the swat team from a low angle so the audience is intimidated by them and begins to feel a sense of hostility towards them. Contrary to this, the band will be shot at normal level, no high or low angles, this makes them seem more humble and equal to the audience so they can relate more.