in this lesson, we're going to be learning about how to compose better shots. The first thing you need to understand about composition is aspect ratio basically how big or the size of your video frame today. The most popular aspect ratio is 16 by nine. This is the standard aspect 16 is the width, nine is the height, this is what you're going to be shooting on with your DSLR cameras, your smartphones. This is how most TVs are built today. While back most TVs were made a little bit more squished and that was a four by three aspect ratios. Not many people are shooting or creating videos in four x three anymore. And if you go to the theater you will see even wider aspect ratios. And this is something that you can even do in post production to make your videos seem more cinematic now that you know what frame you're using, you're ready to compose a shot. And this is really how you frame the shot specifically. We're gonna talk about several ways to frame your shop for coverage and that's real...

ly a wide a medium, a close up an extreme close up and inserts. Now keep in mind these are the most common ways of shooting but there are infinite ways of composing your shot. So if we're shooting a narrative or really a documentary, we have to have a story right? So fill over here is getting ready to plan his hiking trip and we're going to shoot it first as just a normal narrative or this would also act really well as b roll for your coverage and a dock. So we're gonna start with a wide shot. So you can see here I have Phil framed up in a wide shot, he's sitting here, you can see the entire scene and really you can kind of use this whole frame for your wide covered shot. It's something that you can always cut back to when you get in trouble or if you need to really show the entire area and the world and set the scene. So this is a very basic wide shot. If I were to frame up a little bit more negative space, I might do this. So in this white shot I have a ton of negative space, it's a little more stylistic. You can see all the ideas and all the empty space that Phil may have in his head. It really kind of speaks a little bit more to your audience. The emotion that a frame evokes is really dependent on how you compose it. So now that we have different white shots, let's get in and get a medium shot of Phil since I'm on a zoom lens, I'm able to just zoom in on my 24 to 70 and achieve this really quick medium shot. Normally if you're on a prime or you're on a different lens, you may have to get up and move your camera, whereas the wide shots, great to show the area you're in and really give your viewer space and show you where you are. A medium can be used for several things. It's really just to start to connect with your character, start to see what they're doing in the frame. It's also something that's used mostly for interview shots and for dialogue covering talking back and forth. So here's a good medium shot. It's composed, centered, it's very basic, but it allows us to get the amount of action that he's doing with some of the background. It's not as wide as the wide shot where we can see everything going on and it's not as emotional, but it's a really good way to cover. Next we're going to jump into a close shot. I'm at the end of my zoom now with a smartphone. Generally you're going to have to move around to get your shots because the zooms aren't great. Digital zooms are basically zooming in digitally and you can start to lose quality. So for here we're either gonna have to change to a longer lens or I'm gonna have to get up and move over there. I think I'm going to do that. Here's a close up shot of Phil this has a little bit more emotion. We're right in there. He's reading his book the books a little bit in frame so we can see what he's doing. We've gained more emotion by being closer to him. The audiences connecting a little bit more with our subject versus the wide where we see everything in the medium, where we may not see his face, We're right here, we're right here with him and we can really get in his head almost we can see what he's doing. So here's an extreme close up of fill, you can really see his eyes and what he's reading. We can really connect with the character here through the eyes and we can really see what he's doing. It really brings an entirely even deeper emotion into it. So see how Phil's reading his book right now. Watch what happens when he looks over here between this shot and the Wide shot, you know, as an audience member, what he could be looking at, because you've already been here, you've already seen the Wide Shot, you're inside his world and now you're with him emotionally. So next is an insert shot. This is really kind of detailing what our subject is doing. You can see here what book Phil is reading, he's planning a hike in Los Angeles and these types of shots can really be used for narrative or b roll for a documentary. The big thing about him is to really just kind of pick up on detail and see exactly what your subject is doing in order to relate back to them. These are the basic shots, you need to tell a story

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Compose Your Shots

Compose Your Shots

Lesson Info

15. Compose Your Shots

Lessons

Welcome to the Class

What Makes a Great Video

What Type of Video Should You Make

Come up with a Great Video Ideas

Plan Your Video

The Pre-production Checklist

Does Equipment Matter

Our Recommended Cameras

Our Recommended Audio Equipment

Our Recommended Lighting Equipment

Our Recommended Editing Equipment

Our Recommended Drone Equipment

Quiz: Chapter 3

Exposing Your Shots

Compose Your Shots

Filming Yourself

Getting the Right Shot

Choose a Background

My Office Video Setup

Quiz: Chapter 4

Exposing with DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras

Focus with DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras

Stabilize Your Shots

Know Your Lenses

Shoot with Your Smartphone

Shoot with Your Webcam

Record Great Screencast Videos

Tips for Better Drone Shots

Types of Drone Shots

Quiz: Chapter 5

Choose the Right Microphone for Your Video

Record Better Audio in Any Environment

How to Use a Lavalier Microphone

How to Use a Shotgun Microphone

How to Record Audio with Your Computer

Quiz: Chapter 6

Why We Light

Use Natural Light

The 3-point Video Lighting Setup

Quiz: Chapter 7

Intro to Editing

The Post-production Process

Craft a Story with Editing

Improve Your Audio with Editing

Find and Add Music

Design Clean and Professional Titles

Increase Video Engagement with Calls to Action

Quiz: Chapter 8

Export the Best Quality Video for Online

Tips for Posting Online

Grow Your Youtube Channel

Quiz: Chapter 9

Case Study - Corporate Promo Videos with Ghirardelli Chocolate

Case Study - Event Videography with Major Lazer

Case Study - Documentary Films with Phil

Case Study - Shooting By Yourself

Case Study - Wedding Videography

Case Study - Phil's Livestream Setup

Thank You

Final Quiz

Class Materials

Philip Ebiner

Sam Shimizu-Jones

Will Carnahan

topics covered in this class

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