The importance of framing

- In cinematography, framing refers to the way elements are arranged in the frame. Essentially what the camera sees. The way actors are blocked, and move through the scene, and set design, all these things play a role in framing. As we'll see later in this series, framing is also effected a lot by the choice of lens. So who cares about framing? I mean, if the story is really all that matters, and any camera angle can show the scene happening, then why should you care about framing? The reason is because framing plays a large role in the telling of a visual story.

Amateurs will just point a camera at a bunch of actors, and record the scene. But experienced filmmakers don't just make recordings. They tell stories visually. And there's a big difference. So let's examine the emotional impact of well framed shots. Let's look at Citizen Kane, shot by Gregg Toland. The framing here tells us everything we need to know, and reinforces what's happening in the story. Here, this couple is clearly in love. Notice the super tight framing. Putting these lovers on the borders of the frame suggests that there's nothing else important going on outside of these two.

They're the whole world to each other. But as the relationship progresses, things change. Even without hearing the audio, and knowing what they're talking about, the framing suggests that there are now obstacles coming up between them, because of that super huge plant that's really big in the frame in each reverse. We also stop seeing them grouped together in the frame. You see, when things are shown together in the same frame, it suggests a relationship. So the fact that we stop seeing these two characters at the same time, suggests that they don't have a relationship, or not much of one, anyway.

When we finally see them together again, in the same frame, there's a great distance between them now. The wide framing enhances the contrast between the warmth that we've already seen from them, and where they are now. And the camera pulling back increases the sensation that their relationship is becoming less and less important. Another aspect of framing, often overlooked by new filmmakers, is the stuff around the subject. If the frame is too cluttered, and visually busy, or if it's too sparse, or if there's not enough depth between the subject and the background, the shot might feel poorly framed.

Although this is usually dependent on exactly what's happening in the frame. For example, in this shot from one of my very first movies, Monday the 16th, the background is just a plain wall. Not much depth, not much great stuff going on here. However, the wall is red, which is more interesting than just plain white. Also, the light source is coming from the floor, which seems to create a spotlight around our subject. So I actually like the way this particular shot looks, even though there's really not much going on.

It's also important to remember that framing, and the blocking of the actors, really go hand in hand. As we just looked at, in the previous chapter, when we talked about shot sizes, the camera and actors can often move and completely change the frame through the course of a shot. Now, most people in the audience might not have noticed the framing at all. But I promise you they felt it. This is the power of framing. As we go through this chapter, we'll learn more about this incredibly powerful aspect of cinematography, and how you can use it to improve your storytelling.