How to Show a character through composition?

DavidG

DavidG

Active member
Hi guys, I was just wondering if any of you knew of any interesting or simple ways of making a "good boy" character, appear innocent and kind through frame structure and character placement? Aswell as the opposite, how would you go about making someone look mean, aggresive, and almost in control?

Thanks DavidG.
 
There is a lot more than just that. You can show power by having the camera low with it pointed up, or vis versa. There was a website and I'll look for it. It has a lot of things to do with how to show character through lighting and composition. I'll get back to this thread soon.
 
Framing is also used to convey emotion. When framing on thirds placing the empty part of the frame in front of the character conveys an openess about them, while placing the empty part behind them conveys concealment and dishonesty. For vertical use a bit of a heavier framing on their close ups while for the angelic character a bit of a lighter framing.

Height of camera is also a contributor. Instead of just a nudge below the eyeline, move the camera lower to make the sinister character look more dominating.

Have more shadows cast across the sinister character so you can't look them in the eye. If you do have lighting on the evil one, more direct lighting will make their pupils smaller. Indirect lighting on the angelic character will allow their pupils to be wider, and look more innocent.

These suggestions are only aids. All of the technique in the world won't make up for a bad script, bad acting, and bad casting.
 
pto2212 said:
Lighting from top- angelic/innocent.

Lighting from bottom- evil/sinister.
Click to expand...

I just spent like 3 hours writing and then accidentally hit refresh.

So, basically the above quote is completely correct, and soon I'll be posting a big cool thread about composition and blocking and all these rules that have cool names.

To help you answer your question, davidg:

Innocent/Kind/Shy:
Shoot your character with an offset frame. Make him not in the center of your shot - insignificant. Shoot him from above eye level, as if he was standing up. This way, if your character sits down and stands up in the same frame, you will have the same feeling of insignificance. Here's and example:

innocentjw9.jpg


Sinister/Powerful/Aggressive:
Remember the Hitchock Rule: "The most prominent object in the frame is the most important." This can also mean that they are powerful. Have the frame centered on your actor, with unflattering lighting from below or the side. Make sure they are the biggest thing in the frame.

powerfulangrybm3.jpg


z
 
Use a lot of backlighting to make someone seem angelic. Soap Operas do it all the time; it creates a sort of halo around the head of the person, making seem like an angel.

You could spend years learning all of this kind of stuff, I suggest picking up a book called 'Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics', by Herbert Zettl. Very informative regarding use of composition+lighting to display elements of character in a person.

Also, I'd have to disagree on the lighting from above statement; I always thought that lighting someone from above would make them appear slightly moody and sinister, ala Godfather. Am I right?
 
Try using color to represent their characters. A slight blue tint for the innocent character and a slight red tint for the evil character could be good visual cues. I would just suggest to keep it subtle to avoid "theater lighting".

Rob
 
One use of composition I randomly noticed is in Titanic. When Leo and Zane are talking after putting Rose on the boat, look at the two shots. Zane is positioned inbetween two people in the frame (one on either side) and both are lower than himself. This makes for a triangle between the 3 of them of which he is at the top. The reverse has the opposite with Leo at the bottom of the pyramid showing his lack of power compared to Zane.
 
I suggest reading one book that gives you the basis then shooting 100 hours of footage.... instead of 100 books on theory and one hour of footage.
 
>'Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics', by Herbert Zettl.

Nick and ncje are right. This is the book to look at. It covers the basics and fundamentals of framing composition and movement.
 
I'm not sure if this has been said. Actually I am sure someone said this on page one.
But frame it so he seems smaller in the frame. If you are going with the rule of thirds, put him in the lower part of the frame and light from above, giving him an innocent angelic look. Plain colors might help, and not a lot of other things going on. When thinking of innocence I imagine the least amount of chaos or clutter in the frame. But that is more for the innocence of a child.
 
try centering the charachter squarely, and shoot up at him, try somethign like, placing the camera 8-10 feet away, and about 3 inches below the eye level. with a bit extra back lighting. but nice bright frontal lighting too. Just make sure the back light is strong.
 
Remember, you can use your background as a tool for emphasis. Perfect example of this is Pretty woman when Julia Roberts is having a chat with her old room mate. Julia is filmed with a background full of flowers exploding in colour and her friend is shot with a very dull grey background emphasising the state of mind in both characters.
 
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