Shot composition and framing of rather dull places and locations?

G

Gargravarr

Member
Not sure if this should go under 'Production design' but here goes:

Say you don't have access to a wide range of items/elements to complement a certain shot, what can one do to enhance a dull place to make it more interesting, balanced and pleasing for the viewer?

E.g. take a bright and rather small room with mostly white walls, some pictures hanging, some conventional furniture and some windows and doors and maybe a plant and some stuff laying around.
How would you frame and compose interactions of people in such a place? If you knew the location was rather boring would you never go wide?

Generally speaking I'm looking for some pointers (tutorials?) which include rather practical examples, basically your average places in every average house where things might be happening (bathroom, livingroom, bedroom :tongue: etc.)

I'll try and upload a few examples of my own shots if the above should be too vague.
 
There's a reason very few big budget productions are set in tiny rooms with white walls-- they look like crap. It's almost impossible to make it NOT look like a low budget thing that you just shot in someone's apartment.

That said work with as much depth as you can. Shoot into corners. Decorate it well. Don't just strew things about, place them so they take up space without drawing attention to themselves, and pick what you put in carefully-- you'll probably have to go shopping or borrow tons of items, don't just use whatever's laying around in the room already. Pick interesting angles. Go wide if the story/scene calls for it, and you might want to keep a wide lens on anyway to show more space, and just move in closer-- you're not going to get much shallow DOF regardless, so work with it, not against it. (but again, that depends on what the scene calls for). Try shooting out/against windows, see if you like the look.
 
sonofaresiii said:
There's a reason very few big budget productions are set in tiny rooms with white walls-- they look like crap. It's almost impossible to make it NOT look like a low budget thing that you just shot in someone's apartment.

That said work with as much depth as you can. Shoot into corners. Decorate it well. Don't just strew things about, place them so they take up space without drawing attention to themselves, and pick what you put in carefully-- you'll probably have to go shopping or borrow tons of items, don't just use whatever's laying around in the room already. Pick interesting angles. Go wide if the story/scene calls for it, and you might want to keep a wide lens on anyway to show more space, and just move in closer-- you're not going to get much shallow DOF regardless, so work with it, not against it. (but again, that depends on what the scene calls for). Try shooting out/against windows, see if you like the look.
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Thank you for these tips! The 'Shoot into corners' tip I already knew.
I'm wondering though...if the places are tight wouldn't stuff I move into view to decorate the scene clutter it up or make it appear even smaller since they take up some space?
 
It's part of working with the location, instead of against it, and of course it's to taste... and is a big reason I mention to place things with purpose, instead of just strewing them wherever. I find it's better to have a "lived-in" setting if you're going to go cramped, than a bare-white-wall. Maybe a big painting or mural on the wall instead of bare. Maybe a bike hanging from the ceiling. Maybe an alarm clock and glasses and ashtray on the night stand instead of just clean top. NOT a bunch of candy wrappers, cigarette butts, junk mail and empty soda cans.

This also falls in set/art direction, where you want to pick things in the scene that complement each other. Try and find a color scheme if you can, and pick aesthetic objects which match.

Again, just suggestions, no rules here.
 
You can also go the other direction - make it look boring and sterile. Depends on your scene. In terms of clutter and if adding things will improve or detract from the scene, there are no clear cut rules. That's what makes the art department so valuable. It takes a good eye to figure out what works. The most important advice I can give on that is to think it through. Don't just put stuff in that might look interesting; consider the story of the room, the occupant, the interests and history of the character who decorated it in the story, images that trigger the mood or other thoughts you want to connect with. Be detailed. You can never be too detailed.

If you want to figure it out for yourself, clear out a corner of a room where you live. Set up a camera and a tripod. Start designing the scene with different contexts in mind and see what happens. Take a picture of each setup and decide if you would want that to be a still in your film or not.
 
Already good advice, shooting into corners is a huge tip that works well in even bigger spaces, it creates depth. Set design is one of those jobs that can make or break a film, but people still put it as a low priority many times. My advice is to find a salvation army, or good will, thrift store, and even the free section in your local paper, and on craigs list. You can never have to many props. The key to creating warmth and depth, is lighting the room to enhance the props and furniture, window dressings are huge in my book. Many times, if a room needs a window, we will make one and light it. super easy, and works great to break up big bare walls.

There was a threa on here today about some guys that shot a film in an elevator, they made the set, they also did a tutorial on how they shot it, including the lighting, set design, and added many great tips, and tricks for decieving the eye. Look at lots of scenes and mimic the ideas you like.
 
I'm the process of spending probably an entire day (at least) and several hundred bucks turning a white room (corner) into the basement of an old theater complete with a small laboratory. Now does everybody have to go that extreme, no, but geez, do some art direction people. If you've seen my film 109, The guy's apartment started as an empty room.
 
There are plenty, but a search for 'shot composition' on Google is a good place to start. I would also recommend watching any 'making of' segments you can find on films you enjoy, and studying frames within films to see what works. Also study art and photography, since the same principles apply. You need to understand the universal foundations before adding actors and camera movement does any good.
 
Cassius said:
There are plenty, but a search for 'shot composition' on Google is a good place to start. I would also recommend watching any 'making of' segments you can find on films you enjoy, and studying frames within films to see what works. Also study art and photography, since the same principles apply. You need to understand the universal foundations before adding actors and camera movement does any good.
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Whilst this was probably written in good spirit it's what I would call common sense. I was asking for specific suggestions by the crowds here who have come across good resources they can point to.
I did do a couple searches but given the vast selection to choose from (and I'm sure there's many subpar stuff in there) I'm more looking for 'go to' resources ;)
It's not that I'm too lazy to search -if that's what you presume-, it's more that I would like to prevent myself on wasting money on material that is qualitatively...well not good in terms of valuable content.
Since this is a (sub)forum dedicated to cinematography, framing etc. I was thinking it's not the wrong place to ask for specific advice :)
 
You're right, it was an over simplistic answer.

Film Direction Shot By Shot includes some references to composition, among other things. The Five C's of Cinematography is good and always recommended, but it's lower down on my list since a lot of it is outdated technical advice and the author trying to sell you on a special stage he developed. Still good, though. A subscription to American Cinematographer can also give you a lot of insight into what goes into major productions, it's proven to be a really good resource for me. A lot of bookstores sell individual copies.

Any reading should of course be supplemented by photography practice. You may also benefit from art classes at your local community education center, photography workshops and so forth. That depends on you and where you are, though, it's not always a good suggestion. Photography and video are of course different, but if you can find workshops that focus on lighting and composition you'll find a lot of crossover.

Experience really is the most important teacher here, I've been disappointed in most books that I've tried. It's also important to note that cinematography and composition ignores the main issue that this thread brought up, which is that art direction and set design are the backbone of any scene. I've never read a book on that topic and don't have any suggestions, but it's important to understand that art direction is an entirely different field that won't be covered by the same resources in depth.
 
Gargravarr said:
Whilst this was probably written in good spirit it's what I would call common sense. I was asking for specific suggestions by the crowds here who have come across good resources they can point to.
I did do a couple searches but given the vast selection to choose from (and I'm sure there's many subpar stuff in there) I'm more looking for 'go to' resources ;)
It's not that I'm too lazy to search -if that's what you presume-, it's more that I would like to prevent myself on wasting money on material that is qualitatively...well not good in terms of valuable content.
Since this is a (sub)forum dedicated to cinematography, framing etc. I was thinking it's not the wrong place to ask for specific advice :)
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Fair enough, and as a counterpoint... for specific advice, can we have some specific details? What exactly are you shooting, what exactly do you need, etc. etc.
 
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