Learning 6 rules of video composition with Doug Guerra from B&H is not only applicable to video production but also to photography composition (at least in some cases).
The great thing about these rules is that it can be applied for a vast variety of styles, weather it’s interviews, vlogs, creative production, or any other application.
Framing the subject generally relies on the artistic vision yet there are still some guidelines that are widely accepted because, well, they make your work look better.
THE RULE OF THIRDS
The rule of thirds is the most popular and one of the most essential concepts one should always keep in mind. It divides the screen onto 3 by 3 grid, where lines and intersections are most desirable positions to place your subject into.
When framing subject the eyes should line up on the top of those lines.
AVOID CENTER FRAMING
Although not that sound for photography where a subject is usually placed in the center to intentionally draw attention to, avoiding the center in video production is generally a good idea. It smoothes out the flow of the story, allowing the viewer to focus on the continuity of the relationship between all subjects/elements rather than focusing on one.
Another thought to keep in mind is the direction in which the subject looks or talks. You generally don’t want to place an actor on the same side that they are facing as it creates to much negative space on the opposite side.
Of course, if you intentionally want to put your subject on the spot light, then go ahead, dead center is your friend.
THE 180° RULE
One of the most important rules to establish continuity between shots is the 180 degree rule.
Imagine there is a line between two subjects that are speaking to each other. When filming opposite angles, the camera should never cross the line in order to film the other angle. The camera should always shoot on one side of the line in order to maintain continuity.
If you put the camera on the opposite side the character would be looking in wrong direction.
HEADROOM
Headroom is the amount of space given between the actor’s head and very top of the frame. Depending of the genre of the film, this rule might be applied strictly of loosely. For documentaries and interviews usually you want to be strict and leave a nice amount of headroom. For feature films or other creative video production this rule is loosely applied.
But the general guideline is to leave at least some headroom, unless you shoot at a very close distance of course.
CREATE DEPTH
The depth of the frame is achieved through the balance of what is happening on the foreground versus background of the scene. You would want to position your subject anywhere in-between and have them move through the frame, not across it. Following this rule helps create much more interesting, eye catching frame.
KNOW WHEN TO BREAK RULES
Lastly, there is an all important lesson in life stating that “all rules have to be broken”. Knowing how to break a rule allows you to convey scenes in different ways. However breaking the rule has to be supported by the idea behind it. So if you break it, ask yourself “how does it help the scene?” and why you want to do it.
Watch the entire video on B&H Youtube channel: