What is Mobile Framing in Film?

Cinematography represents the shots that are produced by the filmmaker, but different types of cinematographic quality and various techniques can impact the outcome of the shots that are captured. The filmmaker is in control of the cinematography as well as the quality and individual framing of shots along with various other aspects of the composition of the film such as visual placement of different elements within the frame.

Mobile Framing in Film is one of several cinematic framing options which can be used to produce varied height, distance, angle or level during a particular shot, but how does this happen and what makes Mobile Framing in Film unique?

Understanding Framing in Film

Cinematic framing in film is a technique comprised on several specific elements and influential factors. Camera position, including the angle, level, distance, and height influence the framing of an image as do dimensions of the framing space which can span onscreen and off screen. Framing has several functions largely based on the context of the film just as the context influences the function of photographic quality, mise-en-scene, and various other techniques involved in cinematography.

What is Mobile Framing in Film?

The most basic description of Mobile Framing in Film essentially states that it represents a camera movement which shifts the viewer’s position within the shot. In this sense, Mobile Framing in Film can make the spectator feel as if they are positioned within the shot such that they physically move nearer or further from other objects in the scene in direct relation to the movement of the frame.

When it comes to framing, the mobile frame is specific to cinema such that the frame actually moves along with and in respect to the framed material. Mobile Framing in Film essentially means that the framing of an object changes within the image in which it is captured. Mobile framing alters camera height, angle, distance, and shot level during the actual shot.

Thus Mobile Framing in Film is considered a camera movement. Because mobile framing is specific to cinema and video, it is only present within the motion picture or moving image. With mobile framing we see that the framing of an image changes within the confines of the framed material specifically leading to adjustments in the camera height, shot level, angle or distance.

Mobile framing is used to orient the viewer to the objects within the image or the material of the image such that it results in what appears to be the viewer moving along with the frame. With mobile framing in film, the ultimate experience is as if we are approaching the objects within the frame, or backing away from the object, but it may also appear is if we are circling around or just moving past an object all together.

How is Mobile Framing in Film Accomplished?

To achieve Mobile Framing in Film the cinematographer may use a number of techniques. The most common types of Mobile Framing in Film include:

• Pan shots.
• Tilt shots.
• Tracking shots, dolly shots, or trucking shots.
• Crane shots.
• Handheld shots, similar to tracking without any added equipment/instruments to hold camera.
• Steadicam shots. Similar to handheld but provides support.

Mobile framing is not only achieved through the camera movement. In fact, the cinematographer can achieve Mobile Framing in Film if they employ animation in order to create the visual effect of camera movement. Another option that the filmmaker may employ to achieve Mobile Framing in Film is the use of a zoom lens which can alter the visual presentation of the object within the frame.

Alternatively, the camera operator may achieve Mobile Framing in Film through the photography of a still image or the use of a stopped frame or freeze frame image which is then has a particular object of the image either enlarged or reduced in overall size such that it appears differently within the frame. This method is frequently employed in optical printing but may also be used in a variety of other scenarios as well.

Why is Mobile Framing Used in Film?

You might be wondering why mobile framing is the chosen technique used in a film over other methods of compositional framing. With mobile framing, the viewer is given greater information about the space of the image and the position of objects in respect to their background becomes easier to visualize or more clearly articulated. Mobile Framing in Film is employed in order to provide spectators with a more three dimensional appearance of objects within the frame as the camera moves around the objects acting as a substitute for our own movement.

So what is Mobile Framing in Film? It’s a kind of framing that occurs in cinema and video such that the frame moves with respect to the framed material so that the image we see adjusts in relation to the camera height, distance, angle, or level of the shot. Mobile framing is a powerful cinematography element that is used in a number of different ways.