Framing The Shot

Framing the shot - a popular term in the production industry - refers to a collection of practices that, when employed, result in a consistent and professional looking product.

The Rule of Thirds - when filming a subject, common sense would seem to suggest that placing them in the direct center of the frame would be the wise choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Doing so makes the subject look as though they were the target of a rifle. Cinematographers have found that subjects look most natural and interesting if they appear one third from the edge of the screen. The easiest way to achieve this is to imagine that a tic-tac-toe screen is superimposed over your viewscreen a shoot with the subject lined up in one of the corner crosshairs.

Face Space - in general, you want your subject to appear as though they are looking into the middle of the screen. Make sure they are not looking off the edge of the screen unless you are specifically going for this as an effect.

Headroom - always leave space between the top of the subjects's head and the top of the screen again unless you are going for an effect.

Some background considerations

• be careful not to frame your subject in conjunction with a confusing or competing object
• for web video, a solid background will produce the best results
• avoid active pattern clothing on your subject if shooting for the web