 1. Vertical lines suggest strength, authority, and
dignity
 2. Diagonal lines crossing the frame suggest action
and dynamic movement
 3. Curved lines denote fluidity and sensuality; circular
movement evoke feelings of exaltation, euphoria, and
joy
 Every shot must be designed with the goals of
cinematic composition in mind
 1. Directing attention to the object of greatest
significance
 2. Keeping the image in constant motion
 3. Creating an illusion of depth
 Size and closeness of the object- the eye is directed
toward larger, closer objects
 Sharpness of focus- the eye is also drawn almost
automatically to what it can see best
 Movement- the eye is also drawn to an object in
motion
 Extreme close-ups- brings us so close to the object of
interest that we cannot look elsewhere
 Arrangement of people and objects- the director
focuses our attention by his or her arrangement of
people and objects in relation to each other
 Foreground framing- the director generally
emphasizes the most important subject with the
brightest lighting and sharpest focus
 Lighting and color- high-contrast areas of light and
dark create natural centers of focal interest, as do
bright colors in a subdued or drab background
 Fixed-frame movement- the camera remains in one
position, pointing at one spot, movement occurs within the
shot in three ways: lateral (side to side), in depth (toward
and away the camera), diagonal (combination of first two)
 Panning- moving the camera’s line of sight in a horizontal
plane, to the left and right
 Tilting- moving the camera’s line of sight in a vertical
plane, up and down
 Zoom lens- a series of lenses that keep an image in
constant focus- allows the camera to appear to glide toward
or away from the subject
 Movement of subject- lateral movement exclusively creates
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a flat image, so diagonal or head-on movement is used
Movement of camera
Apparent camera movement- using zoom lenses
Change of focal planes- created using rack focus, one
continuous shot focusing the camera lens, in turn, on
objects in different planes of depth
Deep focus- the use of special lenses that allow the camera
to focus simultaneously and with equal clarity on objects
anywhere from two feet to several hundred feet away
 Three dimensional arrangement of people and objects
 Foreground framing- subject is framed by an object or
objects in the near foreground
 Special lighting effects
 Use of reflections
 Low-angle shot- the camera is placed below eye level,
the size and importance of the subject are exaggerated
 High-angle shot- the camera is placed above eye level,
seems to dwarf the subject and diminish its
importance
 Wide-angle lens- exaggerates the perspective so that
the distance between an object in the foreground and
one in the background seems much greater than it
actually is
 Telephoto lens- compresses depth so that the distance
between foreground and background objects seems
less than it actually is
 Fish-eye lens- bends both horizontal and vertical
planes and distorts depth relationships