Research - Camera Angles / Shot Framing

Something that I understand quite well and take it into consideration now without fail because of what I've learnt this year is the use of shot framing. The purpose of shot framing is to direct the audiences attention to certain subjects within the area of a frame. This is ultimately achieved by moving the position of the camera as oppose to the subjects within the scene. I mentioned the brief definition of shot framing and what it entailed in a previous post, but I wanted to go into more detail about it here because I'm beginning to realise just how much of an affect it can have on the audience without it being apparent at first.

There is a few small elements that despite being quite subtle can affect the mood and way a scene comes across quite drastically. Things like depth of field, which is essentially the distance between the camera and the first objects that appear in focus. This use of depth of field, allows the artist to directly influence what the audience pays attention to by deciding what to put in focus and what to blur out. Sharpening key areas of a scene. Following on from this vignetting is also used to produce a similar effect. Objects in focus become brighter and more saturated using this technique, despite it being a naturally occuring optical phenomenon it can be produced mechanically and digitally. Finally, very simply using colour and lighting to the artists advantage it can draw the audiences attention to key subjects in a shot. Distance can also be a technique employed by an artist to allow the audience to absorb more visual information from a scene. The further away the camera is from a lone subject for example the more information the viewer can take in about the subjects surroundings area and in a sense gather bearings about the scene that they're viewing. Finally, framings main purpose as well as guiding the audiences attention is to create a visually pleasing composition and due to the nice aesthetics quality a certain framed shot might possess it will keep the audiences attention on the shot for longer.