Camerawork tips: framing, composition, camera movement
(Page 3 of 7)
Copyright © 2007 LAvideoFilmmaker.com - All Rights Reserved. _______________________________________________________________
There are four essential elements in camerawork: lighting, color, composition and movement. Color is dealt with in the production design and video color correction sections and lighting was dealt with in the last section, so this section will focus on composition and camera movement.
Composition / Framing
In filmmaking, "composition" simply refers to how you frame your subject and anything else that is in the frame. Different directors have different styles; one of the most impressive is that of Steven Spielberg, who likes to have a very rich and layered frame, with plenty of stuff in front of and behind the main subject. The only way to learn how to compose nicely is to watch lots of good movies repeatedly and experiment with your own camera.
A major "rule" of composition is that the subject should be placed slightly to the right or to the left of the centre, especially if the subject has an element of directionality to it (for example, if you are framing a close-up of an actor looking from left to right, the actor should be slightly to the left of the centre). This is known as the rule of thirds. The word "rule" is in quotation marks because there aren't any rules in filmmaking: only empirical observations of what works well and what doesn't. These "rules" can be broken with brilliant results in the appropriate circumstances. Knowing when to stick to these rules and when to break them is all part of the process of shooting truly outstanding work.
Camera movement
Camera movement can be achieved with grip equipment such as dollies, cranes and camera stabilization rigs such as the Steadicam®. A dolly is essentially a platform with wheels that can move along tracks or on a smooth floor. The camera is mounted on it and then moved by a dolly grip.
Cranes are used to achieve vertical motion. As with all camera movement, it needs the presence of objects in the foreground in order to be really effective.
The Steadicam® is a vest-mounted camera stabilization rig invented by Garrett Brown in 1975. It works by isolating the camera from the camera operator's body, allowing the operator to move the camera freely, with no visible camera shake. The Steadicam originally impressed the world with seemingly impossible shots - the operator could run up stairs or on rough ground, and yet the movement was very smooth. Steadicam shots are characterized by a very fluid motion that looks as if the camera is gliding through the air. The Steadicam is now sometimes overused, but it remains an invaluable tool, as it can achieve shots that are impossible with any other rig. The Steadicam should only really be used to film shots that cannot be done with a dolly, tripod or crane.
For an example of a movie with a high density of camera movement, take a look at any film by James Cameron.
Handheld camerawork is in some ways a "special effect," and should therefore be used sparingly. It is an empirically observed fact that audiences generally find handheld camerawork very annoying, and only tolerate it when it makes a genuine contribution to the story. Spielberg has used handheld cameras to great effect in "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan."
The use of the zoom in filmmaking has recently enjoyed a revival, notably at the hands of Ridley Scott, whose incredibly smooth zooms give his films an appropriately eerie feel. Check out "Hannibal" for some very effective zoom shots. Remember that zooming in on a subject is not the same as dollying in on it. When you zoom in or out the perspective does not change; conversely, when the camera moves towards or away from the subject, there is a change in perspective. The director chooses one or the other depending on personal preferences and the desired look for that shot.
Color, composition and movement are some of the factors that make a director's work distinctive and are essential components in filmmaking.