Picture composition (1)

There is no complete set of rules for picture composition although there are a number of commonly-held views about well composed shots. If you freeze the playback of a programme at any point, you should see a still frame that looks good.

Know your monitor

Please make sure the monitor you are using to look at shots has been properly set up. Some monitors are over-scanned or under-scanned. Many show incorrect colours and a surprising number of television studios do not set up the brightness and contrast of monitors accurately.

Rule of thirds

Probably the best known starting point for composing a shot. If you divide the screen into thirds and place objects of interest at the intersection points then the image will usually look well composed.

This rule should not be slavishly followed, otherwise all the shots end up looking the same. However, it has worked for thousands of directors before, and will again.

Headroom

Please do not chop the tops off people’s heads unless you really mean to. Give sufficient space so that heads do not look cramped at the top of the screen.

Looking room

Generally we give looking room in the direction the person is facing. Similarly if the person is running, we would give extra space in the direction they are travelling.

Centre framing

Probably the weakest place to put any object. While it is safe – if it moves a bit it is unlikely to go out of frame – it is definitely dull.

Balancing shots

If you are placing someone or something on one side of the screen, you will usually need something on the other side to balance up the picture. The obvious exception is where you want to show loneliness or desolation, in which case the empty space becomes integral to the composition.

Headroom can look very different from monitor to monitor, depending how they have been set up.

When balancing a picture don’t let the background objects be too distracting – static objects generally work well.

It’s also a useful way of placing your presenter in context – if they are at an art exhibition, show some artwork around them.

Keep an eye out for what’s behind a presenter – try to prevent trees from growing out of heads, Mickey Mouse ears etc.

Centre framing is most useful in front of a locked off camera, or one being remotely controlled, when you need the extra safety margin in case the person moves at all.