Search Marketing Insomniac…The Blog of Adam Henige

In the first edition of this series we tackled the topic of audio, so now that you have the basics of making your videos sound good, it’s about time you learn how to make your videos look more professional. When amateurs pick up a camcorder, one of the biggest sins they commit is in framing their shots. By keeping a couple simple things in mind while you shoot, you can drastically improve the professionalism of your video.

1. Head room

What is head room?  It’s not this:

But come to think of it, it actually is.  If you watch the video, notice how Max is framed in the video, and pay close attention to the top of the screen in relation to his head.  Head room is the spacing between the top of your subject’s head and the top of the frame.  If you leave too much head room (which is often the case), it looks like your on camera subject is sinking off the screen.  Usually, the less head room the better.

Here’s a good example (originally produced by the good folks at San Diego State University) of too much head room (on the left) vs. appropriate head room (on the right).

Clearly, the framing on the right provides an easier to view image, and what you typically see from professional video footage.

2. The Rule of Thirds

Another thing to notice in the Max Headroom video is his horizontal positioning.  While he is the only subject within the TV screen (the screen within the screen, that is), you will notice that he is never exactly in the center.  Filmmakers and videographers typically abide by the rule of thirds to help place emphasis within a shot.  If you think of the screen in thirds, it would basically be divided up like the tic-tac-toe board below:

Rule of thirds

Humans instinctively look to these points of intersection for emphasis (in film school we were told that these intersections mirror the human face - eyes and the corners of the mouth).  Regardless, it makes for a less stagnant looking image, and provides lead room for a subject.  What is lead room?  If moving, or turned slightly in one direction, planting them in the middle of the screen will make it seem as if they are going to run off the screen.  So if you have someone facing off screen to the right, you can use the rule of thirds to frame the key points of emphasis (usually their face) along the intersection on the top left.  Notice in the Netvantage video segment below that the subjects always have “lead room”, with more empty space in front of our faces than behind our heads.

This creates a more natural feel, particularly when someone is moving, which makes it feel like the camera subject has space to keep moving.  Illustrated simply in a still image:

If the subject was directly in the center of the frame, it would feel awkward.  Following the rule of thirds makes it clear who the subject is, and allows easily for movement and allows the viewer to get a better feeling for the subject’s direction.

So that’s it for lesson number two.  As you continue creating video, remember to remain aware of head room and think of your frame in thirds.  These simple steps will help your videography look like it was done by a seasoned professional.

If you have any questions or want me to address pieces of this further, feel free to contact me.