FOR A PERFECT SHOT:

For a perfect shot lots of variables have to be taken into consideration.

The subject of the film: Always consider the purpose of a shot before you start to set it up. Have you found your subject? What do you want to show about it/them? Is your subject human? - are they wearing the right clothes? Are they in the right mood? Are they doing the right thing in the right place? These are the things you have to think of.

What are the backgrounds/locations:Always consider the background and location in your frames. Does it match your subject? - think colours and textures? Does your subject show up against the background? Does the location give additional information to the audience about the subject? What mise-en-scène will be included in your image?

Composition: Composition is the arrangement within the picture. This is how the audience interacts, as the composition often shows meaning through objects' relationships with each other.

Images are usually composed around the 'rule of thirds'. The rule of thirds is a basic principle where if you imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. The 9 sections help determine if the composition is good, unique, awkward, centered, left, etc.

Apart from arranging objects within the picture, another decision that is made in composition is focus, or depth of field. This dictates the depth into the picture in which objects are in clear focus. You may becide to blur out the background, in order to place more emphasis on central or foreground objects. or you may decide to have everything in your picture in equal focus, for instance in a landscape shot, or a group photo.

Framing: deciding where an image begins and ends - is as vital to the meaning of an image as composition. There are a whole variety of camera angles which can be selected to frame a shot and often what is left out is as important as what is included.

By framing two objects together in the same image, we imply a connection between them, especially if there is a physical link. By isolating an object within the frame - for instance showing a swimmer against an expanse of nothing but sea - we can make it seem insignificant and lonely.