Video Composition

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Video Composition

 Composition has many different, though related meanings. In video, composition is the purposeful arrangement of the components of a visual image.

 Composition is absolutely essential in video because it helps images communicate with viewers more quickly, efficiently, and powerfully.  Composition does this by: • Organizing pictorial elements so that viewers can quickly sort them out and identify them.

• Adding emphasis to direct attention to the most important elements on the screen.

• Creating an illusory third dimension in a two dimensional picture The Spill Resource Page

Organization in Composition

 Composition organizes the elements within an image, to help viewers decode it. Figure 5-1.

• Simplicity – eliminating unnecessary objects from the image, so that the viewer has fewer things to identify.

• Order – arranging objects in the image.

• Balance – distributing the objects in a way that gives about equal visual “weight” to each section of the image. Figure 5-2.

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Emphasis in Composition

 Emphasis is any technique that attracts the viewer’s attention to one part of a composition. Techniques include position, relationship, significance, and contrast.

• Position – the upper left quadrant attracts the eye first, because that is where we automatically look to start reading a new page of text. Figure 5-3.

• Relationship – emphasizing an element by placing it in relationship to other elements in the composition. Figure 5-4.

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Emphasis in Composition

• Significance – Compositional elements that attract attention simply because of the significance to the audience. Figure 5-5.

• Emphasis through Contrast – technique of emphasizing one element in a picture by making it look different from the other elements.

 Contrasting Size – Figure 5-6.

    Contrasting Shape – Figure 5-7.

Contrasting Brightness – Figure 5-8.

Contrasting Color – Figure 5-9.

Contrasting Focus – Figure 5-10. The Spill Resource Page

Depth in Composition

  Depth-enhancing techniques play an important role in pictorial composition – Perspective.

Perspective – a group of techniques used to suggest the presence of depth on a two dimensional surface.

• Size – the closer an object the larger it appears. Figure 5-11.

• Overlap – One object will mask part of another if it is in front of it. An object that overlaps another is perceived to be closer. Figure 5-12.

• Convergence – parallel lines seem to gradually come to together as they recede into the distance. Figure 5-13.

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Depth in Composition

• Vertical Position – the father away objects are, the higher they usually appear in the field of view. Figure 5-14.

• Sharpness – The farther away objects are, the more indistinct they appear for two reasons. First, their fine details are smaller and harder to distinguish. Second, distant objects are softened by the amount of air between them and the viewer. Figure 5-15.

• Color Intensity – The same atmosphere that softens the appearance of objects also reduces the intensity of their colors. Figure 5-16.

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Composing Video Images

 Compositional Schemes • Asymmetrical Balance – visual elements are not equally opposed, but distributed less formally to give an overall impression of balance. Figures 5-17, 18, and 19.

• The rule of Thirds – Create compositions in which the important elements match lines and intersections on the grid. Figures 5-20, 21, and 22.

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Composition for Widescreen Video

  Widescreen Advantages – works well whenever the image is strongly horizontal. This is usually the case with actions scenes and scenic panoramas. Figure 5-24.

Widescreen Disadvantages – Close ups more difficult, difficult to display on traditional TV screens. Figures 5 25, 26, and 27.

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Composing Widescreen Images

    Exploiting horizontals – Figure 5-28 and 29.

Using Rule of Thirds – Figure 5-30.

Composing at the frame borders – Figure 5-31.

Framing subjects – Close ups and Lead Room. Figure 5-32 and 33 The Spill Resource Page

Directing the Viewer’s Eye

 Placing the attention of the viewers where you want it.

• Emphasis can be added by adjusting position, relationship, significance, contrasting size, shape, brightness, color, and/or focus. Figure 5-35.

• Leading Lines – simply point to a subject using one or more lines in the composition. Figure 5-36 and 37.

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Controlling the Third Dimension

    Staging Depth - Figures 5-38 and 39 Exploiting Perspective – Figures 5-40 and 41.

Framing the image – Figures 5-42, 43, and 44.

Working on the picture plane – Figures 5-45 and 46.

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Composition and Movement

 Professional-looking camera moves should be planned so that they both start and end with strong compositions.

• Panning and Tilting – Figures 5-47, 48, 49, and 50.

• The moving camera – rehearse both ending and starting compositions, then make the move, adjusting camera angle and lens focal length setting as needed.

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