Framing for emotions (Dev Diary)

Hey all, welcome to another dev diary, where I talk a little about the thought process behind the development. Aside from providing a unique insight, it also serves to strengthen my own understanding as I put them into words. Hopefully this will also prove to be enlightening to you!

Today I'll be talking about framing a shot to invoke emotions and the use of different lenses to achieve it. Though, first off, a disclaimer - this is still just the way I'm doing it. Not necessarily the best way, just a way. So without further ado -

 Using the images above you'll notice a certain method to the way things are staged - they all serve to draw your attention to the main subject. Even in a shot completely cluttered with objects, or where our main focus is in a tiny part of the screen, there's never any question what you should be looking at. 

Why so much effort into this? Well, if the reader starts hunting all over the image trying to decipher the intention of the shot...we'll have broken the moment. If done correctly though, no one questions it. It's invisible. The shot just feels 'right' and you move on. 

Another technique that's frequently abused is the use of the dutch angles - when the camera is tilted to one side. Done properly, it makes the audience feel uncomfortable with what they're seeing, it heightens tension, introducing odd shapes into the frame. 

Used sparingly however, it becomes an excellent cue on the intent of the situation!

Sorry for the long ramble. This really helps solidify my own knowledge of this :) 

Last example!

Here's a combination of both dutch angles and a very wide lense, not only does the scene feel more chaotic due to the camera tilt, the wide lense makes our character smaller and alone in the shot. Drives home the sense of despair and helplessness they're going through. And in this moment, we really need our characters to despair a little - the situation is so unfairly rigged against them. 

And there we have it, hopefully this proves an interesting read, it's feels pretty cathartic to write this to be honest. Let me know if you'll like to see more in the same vein! 

Have good one,

Lemonkey