Rule of thirds and similar fixed compositions

[LucaM]

I think it’s a question that is frequently asked and i apologize in advance in that case.

When planning a shot do you consider “rules” as the thirds or the golden ratio (or other fixed composition “rules”) and consciously create the shot with that in mind or do you use a different approach?

Topic

[Roger Deakins]

Instinct! I think this topic has been discussed many times before. Usually, there is little time to consider the ‘mathematic’ proportions of a composition – even if you are that way inclined. I am not. I do not like rules.

[LucaM]

Thanks!

At this point i am slowly beginning to suspect that perhaps the secret could be to follow the istinct, since it’s like the thousandth time you answer that way to every “rule involving” question. 😀

[dmullenasc]

It’s better to use the word “guideline” or “suggestion” than “rule” when it comes to artistic expression.

Compositions often fall into certain approaches — symmetry vs imbalance / centered vs. off-centered (where the Rule of Thirds comes from)… but the subject and its surroundings (in front of and behind the subject) have such an impact on what you frame and don’t frame, plus the artistic intent and the story point being made, that compositional “rules” are either just a quick starting point or an after-the-fact realization. They aren’t rules.

Let’s say you are walking with a camera through a landscape and stop to take a picture — maybe you start out by splitting the frame between the sky and land, but then try giving more space to the sky or to the land, or maybe you realize you need some foreground element to create depth, or maybe not, maybe you eliminate close foreground to simplify and create flatness… so you try and discard a half-dozen compositional “rules” within a few seconds in your mind before you take the picture. Ultimately these rules are just suggestions to spark thinking if you don’t have an immediate feeling for the framing.

And in filmmaking, you are telling a story. I had a wide shot of a public swimming pool next to the ocean as a character stands on the edge afraid to jump in. We had some beautiful clouds in the sky so the operator asked me if I wanted to tilt up to get more sky or tilt down to get more water or split the horizon… and I said “the scene is about her being scared of the water, so tilt down to show more water.” It wasn’t the prettier composition but it was the one that told the story.

[LucaM]

Thanks a lot David!

From what i’m experiencing (little or nothing, but one has to start from somewhere) the core of the problem, as you said, is finding the right way to tell the story with the right camera movement, the right lens, the right lights, the right composition (as in the example you described) etc etc. As i think everybody at their beginning i tend too to fall in the trap to mistake “nice, pretty and cool” cinematography with “right” cinematography

And that comes with talent and experience, but unfortunately i lack both at the moment, ah ah! Not an easy journey, but a great adventure as well! 🙂

[Roger Deakins]

Even the great James Wong Howe found himself guilty of creating images for their own sake, or simply to show off his technique, rather that follow what the story required.

[Stip]

Like Roger I operate on instinct, albeit on a very different level. But also like Roger (I believe) I learned a lot from starting with documentaries, where I would move around quite a few times within minutes to get different angles and shot sizes of a scene that did not wait for me, in order to have a variation that would work for the editor – who often was me! It was a very exhausting way of shooting but a great and rewarding exercise – no time to ponder over rules!

[Author]

Replies