What Makes Great Film Composition?

Establishing the various elements of a scene so that they are arranged within the camera frame. In a way that closely connected with your audience is the underlying importance of film composition. And while we know that film composition can help us to drive home the intended message of a scene to our audience. Do you know what makes great film composition? Are you aware of what it takes to place your characters in your frame? So that they convey the message that you’re aiming for? Learning what makes great film composition is an art that many aspiring filmmakers spend years trying to perfect.

Done right, as a filmmaker you have the ability to give your characters a unique power. In which they connect and guide the audience’s thought processes.

Knowing how to establish great film composition is all about learning how to appropriately divide your camera frame. And create images that will stick with the audience. It’s all about following the rules, and knowing when to break them.

Film Composition Rules

Following the rules of film composition can help you to bring your shot composition from good, to great. Many of these rules can be summed up in just a few basic concepts. First, there’s the rule of thirds.

This rule basically states that if you split your frame into three sections equally from bottom to top and from left to right so that you have 9 quadrants and you make sure your subjects are also within the intersecting points of your screen, then your shot will have great composition. This will create an aesthetically pleasing format for your shot.

Eye Level Framing

Another common focus for film composition is on the leading lines which draw the eye to particular elements of a scene. This can help to connect the character to the object or situation of importance within the scene. The leading lines that draw our focus are there to help us connect to the intended area of the scene.

We also see great film composition in eye-level framing. This involves positioning the audience at eye-level of the characters in the frame. This helps to create a feeling of equalism between character and audience in that there is a connection, or sense or realism.

We see eye-level-framing used frequently in films to keep the audience feeling connected to the characters.

Breaking the Rules of Great Film Composition

Sometimes, knowing what makes great film composition is all about knowing how to break the rules. Breaking the rules of great film composition begins, often, with balance and symmetry.

Where the rule of thirds is used to establish aesthetically pleasing shots, breaking this rule by creating balanced and symmetrical shots can equally establish great composition — but how?

Sometimes the symmetrical shot can be used to show that a character is the center of attention, or to direct the viewer’s eyes to a particular element of importance on the screen. While balance and symmetry are not always ideal for great film composition, there are times when it just works!

The Fourth Line

Another way that great film composition is sometimes established by breaking the rules is represented when we cross the fourth line. By breaking the 180-degree rule and crossing the fourth line, the filmmaker can create great composition by establishing an emotional disconnect between the character at the time.

This is often used when things are spiraling out of control and there’s a psychosis or serious disconnect from reality occurring.

As you can see there are times when what makes great film composition is the use of various rules and there are other times when breaking the rules will lead to the most valuable composition. A great filmmaker knows when to follow the rules and when to break them for best results.