(Advanced Film / Lit SPIN) Composition in Storytelling

What are the rules of composition and when should we break them?

Before watching:

What are the following things?

Staging
Framing
Depth
Balance
The rule of thirds
The golden ratio
Triangular composition
The Kuleshov effect
A frame within a frameLines of persective
Fpoint of convergaence


What's fundamental principle of cinema? Editing? Movement? Light and shadow? Timing?

Why might someone claim that it is composition?

Watch

Composition in Film

Part 1

0:00 – 3:00

What do all the first images have in common?

Why is composition a technical necessity in films?

What can composition add beyond good technique?

What did the Kuleshov effect help filmmakers realise?

Part 2

3:00-5:00

Where did early filmmakers generally get most of their techniques from?

Why did the actors generally face the camera in early films?

Why did filmmakers not explore spatial depth?

What does the speaker mean by ‘framing’?

What did the German Expressionists introduce into cinema?

What did wide angles often get used for?

What did canted angles get used to express?

How did the close-up change the possibilities of cinema?

Part 3

5:00-8:44

What is the first objective of composition, in the speaker’s opinion?

__________________

Which uses Compositional Influencers:

Geo_____

Fr_____

Dia_____

Subject clo___ to ___

Gui_____ l_____s

Eyel____ of s_____

F______

Sc____

These control sight. But they can also introduce interesting sbetxtu

What do frames within the screen frame help to do?

What is an example of a frame-within-a-frame introducing a subtext?

Why might filmmakers look for unexpected ways of making frames?

How can lines of convergence be used?

We will stop here and save the rest for another day.

Review 0:00 - 4:45

Listen in two sections, put these phrases in the order you hear them:

1.

tried and tested formulas
versatility
a case in point
sensory overload
be that as it may
Under the umbrella of
In a nutshell
canvas
checkboxes
pragmatism
templates



2.

to hail from
impact
in the grand scheme of things
to be championed
pioneers
epics
as such
standard practice
nuances
newfound methods
like never before








Check

1.

Under the umbrella of
In a nutshell
canvas
checkboxes
a case in point
sensory overload
pragmatism
templates
tried and tested formulas
versatility
be that as it may

2.

in the grand scheme of things
to hail from
impact
as such
standard practice
to be championed
pioneers
epics
like never before
nuances
newfound methods