 Home : Video course : Module 7: Composition : What is Composition?
Expressed simply, composition is the art of consciously arranging the
elements of your picture: lines, shapes, tones, and colors to their maximum
effect.
Composition is the one area that many aspiring
videographers are uneasy about - perhaps because it does not deal in measurable
quantities (unlike focus and exposure). Certainly, some people have no awareness
of composition whatsoever.
There's nothing mystical about the art of composition (it
is an art, not a science). There are rules, but they're made to be broken. There
is no right way or wrong way, just some ways are accepted as being better than
others.
The only thing you can definitively say about composition
is that you can't ignore it. Regardless of how skilled you are in other
departments your footage will lack impact without some consideration of it. The
only difficult thing about composing a shot is that you must get it right at the
time of shooting.
You cannot avoid composition. If you take pictures, even
on the level of just liking what you see, you are making (albeit unconscious)
decisions about composition.
Composition is the difference between the professional and amateur
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