Composition and the Rule of Thirds

When you throw a dart where do you aim? Dead centre. Where does a marksman place his target in the scope? Dead centre. Where is one of the worst places to position a subject in video? Dead centre!

By dividing your screen into thirds with two horizontal and two vertical lines, you give yourself guidelines of where to place your subject. Taking into account the aesthetic element to videos.

At the very least, the rule asks that you position your subject somewhere slightly off centre. The result is a shot that's more natural and pleasing to the eye.

The rule of thirds is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.

Using the Rule of Thirds helps produce nicely balanced easy on the eye video. Also, as you have to position things relative to the edges of the frame it helps get rid of ' tiny subject surrounded by vast empty space' syndrome.

And what happens to every rule? Once you have got the hang of the Rule of Thirds you will very quickly want to break it ! That's ok. Rules are meant to be broken and this 'rule' is at best a guideline and if you can create a better image by bending or ignoring rules then go for it!

Here's a video sample of applying the rule of thirds: