Composition and Camera Movement

Composition
Composition exists in a context.  That context is the frame, which is itself an element of picture composition. In 1894 Thomas Edison introduced
the Kinetoscope motion picture format, with an aspect ratio (ratio of picture width to height) of four units wide to three units high, or 1.33 to 1.  For
the next fifty years most film used the 1.33 aspect ratio.  Sixteen millimeter, eight and “super eight” millimeter film formats and NTSC, PAL, and
SECAM television standards all share the 1.33 ratio.

4 x 3 or 1.33 Aspect Ratio

From an optical standpoint, the most efficient rectangular format would be square, since it would use as much of the lens area as possible.  So
why don’t we have square pictures?

Artists and mathematicians from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians have focused on the “golden rectangle” as the perfect shape.  The aspect
ratio of the golden rectangle is 1.618.  One might presume (although I’ve found no evidence so far) that the 1.33 aspect ratio is a compromise
between the most efficient ratio and the most esthetically pleasing.

Over the years a number of standard sizes with different aspect ratios became popular.  The 8x10 photograph  (1.25), the 4x6 photograph (1.5),
and the 35mm slide (1.5) are a few examples.  Film evolved, too.  Cinerama (2.5 - 3.0), Cinemascope (2.55), and Panavision (1.78 – 2.4) are a
few standards among many.  High definition television has an aspect ratio of 16 by 9, or 1.78.  The shape of the frame is the first consideration
in composition.

16 x 9 or 1.78 Aspect Ratio

The face of the typical television screen has been surrounded by a frame called a shadow mask, which hides about five per cent of the picture.. 
The composition of the same image will be different with and without the shadow mask.  The presence of the shadow mask has always caused
a problem for films transferred to video because they were generally composed to be shown “edge to edge.”  Now the same problem occurs
when images are composed using a digital (LCD) monitor without taking the shadow mask into consideration.
• The red border around the frame represents the
shadow mask.  It is unlikely the viewer will see
anything in this area.  The gold and green areas
combined are referred to as the safe action
area.  Anything that takes place here is likely to
be visible to the viewer.  The green area is
known as the safe title area.  It is virtually certain
that any text in the green area will be visible to
the viewer.
 
 Unless your subject is perfectly symmetrical, the screen should never be divided exactly in half by strong horizontal or vertical lines.
Instead, it should be divided approximately into thirds. For example, the horizon (if you're shooting a corn field) should be either a third
of the way from the bottom of the screen or a third of the way from the top. With the exception of titles, composition should not be
perfectly symmetrical, but should rather balance positive and negative (filled and empty) space.
Too High  
Too Low
When the screen is filled with a face, the critical part of the face includes the eyes, mouth, and chin. The picture should be framed to include
those, allowing hair or ears to fall outside the frame.
When shooting a profile (side view) of a person, it's important to allow empty space in the direction the subject is looking. This extra space is
called "nose room."  

     

Insufficient Nose Room 

Good Nose Room
A wide shot includes the entire subject and important objects in the immediate surroundings. It's used to show where he is in his environment. If
it's used at the beginning of a scene it's often called an "establishing" shot.

A medium shot shows most of the subject, including all parts of the subject that are important to
understanding what the subject is doing. A medium shot of a person sitting still might show his body from the
waist up, letting hands and the lower half of his body fall outside the frame.