6
Frame
Composition and the frame
Composition can be controlled by the position of the lens and a variety of visual design techniques, but there is another ‘invisible’ force acting upon the design of a film or television image and how it is perceived. The enclosing frame of a picture exerts three powerful influences on a composition.
Firstly, the shape of the viewing screen, its aspect ratio (the proportion of its width to its height) has a significant influence on how a picture is to be composed. This is dealt with in the next chapter. Secondly, the spatial relationship between the main subject and the edge of the picture is critical. Lastly, how the frame contains the image, how it in effect limits and concentrates the observer's attention on the subject of the image. Looking through a small window from inside a house we can only see part of the surrounding neighbourhood. Standing in a greenhouse we have an unconstrained view of the environment but without the guiding focus of the selective boundary of a frame. Framing up a shot is selecting and presenting a portion of the setting/subject for the attention of the audience.
Figure 6.1 A single object will either be ‘pulling’ towards the centre or to the corners and/or edge of the frame. There are also positions of ambiguity where an observer cannot predict the potential motion of the object
Frame - an invisible focus of power
It is often difficult to assess the influence the border of a picture has on the main subject of the image. An experiment was devised to measure this effect using a number of individual observers.
In a darkened room using a brightly lit border and positioning a white dot at various positions within this frame, perceptual psychologists established that observers will unconsciously imply potential motion to a static object, the white dot, depending on its position within the frame.
They will ascribe movement to a static object that will either be ‘pulling’ towards the centre or to the corners and/or edge of the frame, depending on its position relative to the edge of the frame. Based on the experience of a large number of individuals, a field of forces can be plotted (Figure 6.1), which shows the position of rest or balance (centre and mid-point on the diagonal between corner and centre) and positions of ambiguity where the observer cannot predict the potential motion of the object and therefore an element of perceptual unease is created. Whether the object is passively attracted by centre or edge, or whether the object actively moved of its own volition, depends on content.
Figure 6.2 There is a strong perceptual awareness of the invisible reference points of the frame. (a) If the camera is panned up, a point is reached, with a large amount of headroom, where the subject appears to be slipping out of the bottom of the frame. (b) Panning down to create a shot with no headroom produces the feeling that the subject is leaving through the top of the frame. (c) There is a point of equilibrium where the subject is balanced against the invisible forces of the frame
At the same moment that we look at an object within a frame, we are also aware (often unconsciously) of the spatial relationship between the object and the frame.
This common experience of an awareness of motion of a static visual element with relation to the frame is an intrinsic part of perception. It is not an intellectual judgement tacked on to the content of an image based on previous experience, but an integral part of perception. The edge of the frame and also the shape of the frame therefore have a strong influence on composition.
The pattern of a photographic image is more than the relationship between size, shape, brightness differences and colour contrast of the visual elements, there is also a hidden structural pattern created by the frame. An image contains more than the visible elements that make up the shot and these ‘unseen’ aspects can exert a powerful influence on the composition. As we saw in the discussion on perspective, an observer can be aware of the position of the vanishing point (within or outside of the frame) even if it is not self evidently indicated.
These frame ‘field’ of forces exert pressure on the objects contained within the frame and any adjustment to the composition of a group of visual elements will be arranged with reference to these pressures. This strong perceptual awareness of the invisible reference points of the frame can be demonstrated by examining a simple medium close-up shot framed with normal headroom. If the camera is panned up, a point is reached, with a large amount of headroom, where the subject appears to be slipping out of the bottom of the frame. Panning down to create a shot with no headroom produces the feeling that the subject is leaving through the top of the frame (Figure 6.2(a)–(c)).
Framing anything towards the corners gives the impression that the subject matter is slipping away from the dead centre reference point. Placing the subject dead centre of the frame resists or balances out the ‘pulling effect’ of the corners. By eliminating tension the resulting image lacks visual excitement because there is no visual stress within the frame. The subject is at such a condition of equilibrium that it lacks any visual energy (Figure 6.3(a)–(c)).
A different placement of the subject within the frame's ‘field of forces’ can therefore induce a perceptual feeling of equilibrium, of motion or of ambiguity.
Static viewpoint
Human perception is unable to be as static and as continuously focused and attentive on a selected portion of a field of view as a camera. Attention, after a short period of time, will inevitably be captured by movement or noise from subjects outside the selected zone of view. The camera can continue its static unblinking gaze until altered by the cameraman.
Figure 6.3 (a) When the main subject is centre frame there is little or no tension set up between frame and subject. (b) Offsetting the subject to this degree suggests that the frame is ahead of the kite. There is a marked contrast between the space in the left of the frame and the kite. It is ambiguous visual communication as it could imply that either the kite is losing height or that it has unlimited space to climb. (c) Placing the subject too close to centre can also be ambiguous as it remains unclear whether the kite is moving to equilibrium or is being pulled towards one of the sides of the frame
A hard cut-off
There is no awareness of what lies outside the selected viewfinder image except by deduction based on content or previous shots. By selective editing, a completely fictitious environment can be suggested to lie outside the hard cut-off point of the frame. Human perception has the ability to focus on one section of its view whilst being aware of visual activity on the edge of the field of view.
One of the early Hollywood conventions designed to hold and concentrate the audience's attention on the subject of the shot was to compose the shot so that it contained the action within the frame and then, by cutting, followed the action in discrete, complete shots. Each shot was self-contained and referred only to what was seen and shut out or excluded anything outside of the frame. This is the closed frame technique and is structured in such a way as to keep the attention only on the information that is presented. If there is any significant reference to a subject outside of the frame, then there is a cut or a camera move to bring the referred subject into frame. This convention is still followed in many different programme formats. For example, in a television demonstration, the demonstrator in MCU may refer to some item that is outside the frame. Either the MCU is immediately loosened to reveal the object or there is a cutaway on another camera to a close-up of the object.
The open frame convention allows action to move in and out of the frame. An example would be a character in a hallway who would be held on screen whilst in dialogue with someone who is moving into, and out of, frame whilst entering and leaving various rooms that are unseen. Their movement while they are out of frame is implied and not cut to as separate shots. The open frame does not disguise the fact that the shot is only a partial viewpoint of a much larger environment. This technique considers that it is not necessary for the audience to see the reality beyond the shot in order to be convinced that it exists (Figure 6.4(a), (b)).
In the mid-nineteenth century the increased speed of film emulsion allowed faster exposure and the ability to capture movement. Photographs of street scenes now became possible and often featured, by chance, people on the edge of frame either moving into or out of the shot. These snapshot ‘chance’ compositions, as we have mentioned, appealed to painters such as Degas (see Figure 10.3) who used the same convention of objects on the edge of frame to add to the dynamics of the composition (see Chapter 5) and as a pointer to the arbitrary nature of the placing of the frame, which excluded a greater reality outside the frame.
Some film directors, such as the Italian Michelangelo Antonioni, have emphasized the arbitrary nature of the frame as a device that switches on pieces of ‘reality’ only when required, by holding the shot of a location when any significant action has ended. For example, the shot may continue of an empty room when the actors have exited to underline the continuing existence of the room independent of staged action or the demands of the narrative.
Figure 6.4 (a) A closed frame contains all the relevant action. (b) An open frame requires the audience to assume what they cannot see - that there is a door and keyhole beyond the confines of the frame
The classic Hollywood narrative convention was to present only what was essential to advance the plot. Many European and other film makers have challenged this slavish adherence to an edited construction of film time and space, restricted to the strict requirements of a story. They moved away from the conventional limits imposed by Hollywood narrative continuity and inserted shots that had possibly no plot requirement but provided indicators of a world larger than the limitations imposed by the constraints of only following story requirements.
Limited depth and perspective indicators
The two-dimensional viewfinder image has limited depth indicators created by overlap of objects, change of size of objects moving to or away from the camera, mass, line and aerial perspective. Human perception, with binocular vision, allows depth and size judgements to be made by head and body movement. The perspective of the viewfinder picture can be entirely different from the impression of depth experienced by an observer beside the camera.
The viewfinder image is a bright selected rectangle containing a portion of the field of view that is personal and specific to that camera position, lens and framing No other individual at that location has the same visual experience as the viewfinder image unless they are sharing a video output from the camera.
Monochrome
An electronic viewfinder will produce a monochrome image with a much smaller contrast range than that experienced by human sight. This tends to provide a much simpler image than the original, eliminating colour contrasts and the emotional effect of colour and emphasizing tone, mass and the perspective of line.
A stronger sense of pattern is usually displayed by a two-dimensional viewfinder picture than is seen by human perception unless an individual has trained himself to ‘see’ as a camera does.
The viewfinder image therefore helps in composing a picture because, to some extent, it accentuates certain compositional elements. A well designed image has information included but also has information that has been excluded. The frame acts as a controller of attention by limiting what is to be in shot. The edge of the frame is a frontier checkpoint and the basic advice often given to trainee cameramen is to always check the edge of the frame for unnecessary detail. With a small viewfinder image it is not always easy to see ‘border incidents’ of items creeping into the frame and others sliding out. When observing a large projected image or colour picture, these fringe visual activities are immediately obvious and distracting and shift the emphasis from the main subject of the shot (see colour plates 4 and 5).
The edge of frame as a reference
Because of the strong influence of the frame edges, they tend to act as an immediate reference point to horizontal and vertical lines in the image. The camera needs to be levelled to produce the horizon or equivalent lines parallel to the bottom of the frame and vertical lines parallel to the side of the frame unless a canted picture is required (a Dutch tilt). If this does not happen, any camera movement will produce greater or lesser distortion of the vertical and horizontal elements.
As there is constant feedback in our biological make-up between the inner ear and eye to achieve balance and remain upright, a canted shot that displaces strong verticals can have a disturbing visual effect. Carol Reed in the ‘Third Man’ (1949), uses a sequence of canted shots of faces peering out of doorways and windows to create an atmosphere of suspicion and instability. This reflects the central character's uneasiness in his search through Vienna where he suspects that there are mysterious events beyond his knowledge.
In one television series, all the flashback sequences were shot in monochrome and canted to provide a separate identity to the main narrative. The fight sequences in ‘Batman’ (1989) were canted not only to reflect the style of the original comic book illustrations but also to provide greater dynamics to the shot composition.
Figure 6.5 Although the newsreader is well into the frame the background logo competes for interest
Frames within frames
The shape of the frame and the relationship of the subject to the edge of the frame have a considerable impact on the composition of a shot. Historically, in print photography, there have been two preferred aspect ratios – the landscape format, which has a predominantly horizontal shape, and the portrait format, which emphasizes the vertical aspect ratio.
Film and television programmes usually stay with one aspect ratio for the whole production. There have been a few examples of multi-image films that either use a split screen of two, four or more separate images, whilst other productions have altered the shape of the screen according to content.
One simple way of breaking up the repetition of the same projected shape and of adjusting the aspect ratio to suit the content is to create compositions that involve frames within frames. The simplest device is to frame a shot through a doorway or arch that emphasizes the enclosed view and plays down the enclosing frame and wall. Another popular convention is to include in the top of the frame of a wide shot a bit of ‘dingle dangle’ – a tree branch often supported out of vision by a gallows arm or a similar structure.
By using foreground masking, an irregular ‘new’ frame can be created that gives variety to the constant repetition of the screen shape. A frame within a frame breaks the monotony and also provides the opportunity for compositional diversity. The familiar over-the-shoulder two shot is, in effect, a frame within a frame image as the back of the foreground head is redundant information and is there to allow greater attention to be focused on the speaker, and the curve of the head into the shoulder gives a more visually attractive shape to the side of the frame (see Figure 1.4).
Often the object that is being used to create a secondary frame has some narrative connection with the subject of the shot. For example, the arm of a crane may be used to mask a wide shot of docks or the curve of the span of a bridge will frame a town or cityscape.
A second frame
A frame within a frame emphasizes the principal subject by enclosing it with a secondary frame and often gives added depth to the shot. There are a number of ways of creating a secondary frame including the use of semi-silhouette foreground objects, or windows or mirrors that divide the frame into a smaller rectangle. If this is badly done there is the risk of creating a divided frame with equal and competing areas of interest. Strong vertical and horizontal elements can create two images that are unconnected and provide no visual direction, thus allowing ambiguity in the viewer's mind as to which image is dominant.
The other compositional problem occurs with the relationship between the edge of frame and the frame-within-a-frame shape. If these are similar and the inside shape follows the frame line then there is simply a contraction of the screen size. Divided interest in a frame can be created by the overemphasis of visual elements that are not the principal subject or there may be indecision of what is the principal subject.
The top of the doorway in ‘The Big Combo’ shot (see front cover) is angled to the frame of the shot by offsetting the camera position from a square-on position and by using a low lens height. This avoids the top and the sides of the entrance running parallel with the outside edge of the frame, which would simply reduce the size of the screen. If the camera position had been chosen to centre on the entrance, the top line would run parallel to the top of frame and produce a less dynamic image. A sloping line across the frame produces a more active composition when it is obviously at a different angle to the frame top. The low camera height and the distance of the actors from the lens creates size difference and depth.
As always when offering compositional guidelines in film or television there are always exceptions that can be found. The end shot of John Ford's ‘The Searchers’ (1956) is a square-on shot of a doorway from the interior with an enclosing unlit frame so, in effect, the screen contracts down to the doorway through which one can see the familiar figure of John Wayne walking away from camera.
Frame and divided interest
The most common example of a frame within a frame creating a divided interest is the newsreader framed in one half of the shot, ‘balanced’ by a logo or generic graphic enclosed in a ‘window’ in the other half. The two images are usually not visually integrated and fight each other for attention. Often, the newsreader appears to be uncomfortably near one edge of the frame being pushed out by the dominant position of the graphic.
It is almost impossible to achieve visual unity with a combination of presenter plus a strong graphic ‘window’ unless the presenter occupies at least three-quarters of the frame and can overlap the graphics window. A fifty–fifty split in the frame is often seen in news bulletins reflecting journalistic preferences formed by experiences of text page newspaper layouts.
Electronic graphics have a generous surround of ‘non-action’ area that is required because some domestic television sets are overscanned and the margins of the transmitted picture are not seen. Essential information such as text (name supers, telephone numbers, etc.) is automatically kept out of this border. Pictures derived from cameras have no such automatic control and can and do produce images that overlap the action area boundary. Consequently many factual programmes allow electronic graphic material to push presenters off the screen or squeeze them to the edge of the frame in composite shots.
Summary
At the same moment that we see an object within a frame, we are also aware of the relationship between the object and the frame. These frame ‘field of forces’ exert pressure on the objects contained within the frame and all adjustment to the composition of a group of visual elements will be arranged with reference to these pressures. Different placement of the subject within the frame's ‘field of forces’ can therefore induce a feeling of equilibrium, of motion or of ambiguity.
The closed frame technique is structured to keep the attention only on the information that is contained in the shot. The open frame convention allows action to move in and out of the frame and does not disguise the fact that the shot is only a partial viewpoint of a much larger environment.
A stronger sense of pattern is usually displayed by a two dimensional viewfinder picture than is seen by human perception unless an individual has trained himself to ‘see’ as a camera does. The viewfinder image therefore helps in composing a picture because, to some extent, it accentuates certain compositional elements.
In general, when using frames within frames, the inside frame should be at an angle to avoid a cardboard cutout appearance or contracting the screen size. The inside frame should be in sharp focus and need not completely enclose the main subject of the shot. Partial frames, such as top of frame foliage or the classic over-the-shoulder framing, can be equally effective in breaking up the repetition of the main aspect ratio of the production.