Video Composition: The Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds (grid)

Using imaginary grids to visually divide the page into thirds vertically and/or horizontally and placing most important elements within those thirds.

Rule of thirds (example)

dividing a picture into three sections vertically and horizontally and lines and points of intersection represent places to position important visual elements

composition

how you frame a shot; how a scene is arranged in the camera frame

Why rule of thirds?

Centering the main subject shows less interest; putting subject to the side often makes images more appealing

Eyes on Third

The eyes of the subject should appear on the upper one third of the TV screen providing proper headroom.

Rule of Thirds (definition)

A composition rule that divides the screen into thirds horizontally and vertically, like a tic-tac toe grid placed over the picture on a television set. Almost all of the important information included in every shot is located at one of the four intersections of the horizontal and vertical lines

Nose Room (Talking Space)

A framing technique that refers to the direction that the subject is facing in the shot. Generally, you want the subject to be in the right or left third of the frame, looking across to the opposite side with space in front of them