In my Master Classes worldwide, people ask me about the rules of Framing & Composition in visual arts or more commonly used, films & television.
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| Does Framing & Composition adds drama to a scene? |
"There are no rules", most of the fellow film-makers are shocked! They can't digest my radical view, because they have been reading on the internet & are taught by regular teachers in the school, about those rules.. BUT.. I have a logic, a strong one at that.. if these teachers were so good, with all the knowledge about the rules, they should be film-makers or actors or writers and not teaching in film-schools.
Going by the text-book definition, framing is the presentation of visual elements on screen, especially the placement of the subject in relation to other objects. Idea is to add depth to an image, and add interest to the picture when the frame is thematically related to the object being framed. Composition is filling the frame of the image and how the elements of the mise-en-scène appear in it. Composition rules must be observed in filmmaking.
Brings us to the question, what are composition rules?
Rule of Thirds, what's that? An image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds says that you should position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.
THIS IS THEORY.. practical is.. the audience just want to see their favorite star in action.. well, atleast in India. All the star needs to do is, keep the audience hooked!
In India, till 2004.. 99% of filmmakers weren't educated at film-schools, still they gave blockbusters without a knowledge of these rules, how?
Film-making, more than framing & composition, is about connecting humane emotions.. so we have the biggest director of Hindi Cinema at the moment Raj Kumar Hirani, trained at FTII, the premier film school in India, readily agreeing to the accusation, yes, his shots are very plain.. but they connect with the audience.. be it comedy or emotions.. audience feel for the characters, because I create characters that have a deep emotional perspective.
Take the biggest hits of Hollywood Titanic & Avatar, directed by the same guy, James Cameron, the wallow of emotions far supersede the technical finesse of these films!
Concentrate on telling stories, develop your characters and you will be surprised by the difference that will bring to your film-making skills.
