Using Effective Techniques for Video Far too many videos have problems
Compositions in cinematography can be likened to the silent engineer of visual narratives, discreetly defining the ways in which viewers experience and make sense of each scene. Authors can use editing to focus the audience’s attention and express emotion, or even to indicate relationships between people, characters and objects. It’s powerful of course seeing solid compositions make ordinary shots into haunting images which carry the story, and draw you further into it without a word being spoken. It is by careful strategy and a symphony of good taste in the placement of these videos that makes them read with such clarity, intention and purpose as opposed to chaos.
One such writing technique that I have found useful as a screenwriter, known as “rule of thirds”, involves dividing your storyline into nine boxes in order to place core elements directly on the lines or intersections. This technique builds implied action and intrigue making captures seem alive, not dead. For subjects in motion, giving a little space in the direction of motion (also known as “lead room”) opens up the story to breathe and expects action to complete it (leading allows us to think that this action is going somewhere). In the same way, for foregrounds, midgrounds and backgrounds to be balanced provides depth. And it makes people want to look at the frame as if they were entering a 3-D space.
Framing elements, like doorways, windows or natural arches, both give context and direct attention more subtly toward your main subject while adding depth to the shot. They can represent obstacles, opportunities or changes in the story to deepen the storytelling on a subconscious level. Symmetry and rhythm have a different force, expressing order, beauty or even disquiet when recognisably disturbed. Getting a grip on when to use symmetry and when to disavow it enables storytellers to reflect the emotions or subjects at-hand.
The move of perspective radically transforms the way stories are narrated: low angles elevate subjects, while higher angles degrade them — and with that, either enhance viewer empathy or distance it. Switching lenses or moving the camera up or down can compress and expand space, making intimacy feel more cramped between four walls and expanding landscapes outward. Playing with these perspectives leads people to see past eye level reality, finding new ways to communicate power dynamics, isolation or connection that are exactly appropriate to the message they wish to convey.
In the end, great composition comes from conscious practice and a trained eye that’s able to see stories in any mundane scene. Once these came to be second nature to them, videographers start looking for a signature and create their own style that separates themselves from the rest and stories look appealing as well as memorable. With careful attention to framing, balance and perspective anyone can create videos that don’t simply inform or entertain, they move and inspire those who watch.
