The composition of a scene is what sets up the foundations of which an audience can look to an understand what is happening to what the feeling or mood in a scene is. An example for this is within the BBC series ‘Sherlock’ within the episode ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ When the audience is first introduced with Irene Adler as well as how Sherlock’s train of thought is displayed with camera techniques.
When Irene Adler is finally introduced in full the audience is shown her whole body, panning up and around her. Showing her fully as she gets along with her business, walking into her townhouse. Within this shot she is seen standing on the pavement in front of her home. The use of lines here are prominent within the scene, having parallel lines from the side of the pavement to the ceiling of the terrace roofs on the left point to her. To the small wall on the terrace leading directly to her.
Within the book ‘The Five C’s of Cinematography. it says that “The Linear composition of a scene is dependent… Most effective composition, real lines should not divide the picture into equal parts. Neither vertical or horizontal lines should be centred” in the shot of Irene Adler, she is slightly off center and all lines leading to her are not in perfect alignment of the middle or center lines. These lines are then used to grab the viewers eye and make them focus purely on her as the main source of movement and focus. Giving the character a sense of strength. power and control over the audience as they watch her, this couples with her personality and presence on screen throughout the rest of the episode.
Composition can also help the audience gain a better understanding of a character and the way they work. For example how Sherlock Holmes is gathering clues and collecting information when solving a case or deducing a person, like when bodyguards come to collect him. There are quick snippets of close up pictures from different angles to show the detail of a person or an item. The director, Paul McGuigan has said in an interview
“They show a scene of a dead body and suddenly they can show it from another point of view or several and you can dissect it better….Use still images to go closer to things and then we’ll re-shoot in a different point of view.” This couple with the high definition of the pictures with a blurred background, the difference in colour saturation within the scene compared to the rest of the episode, and tone creates a sense of focus and exposes the little details of a person or object. This is allowing the viewer to understand the thought process that is going through the protagonist mind and linking them closer to him throughout the episode.
Through these examples of composition the audience is able to gain an understanding of focus and mood of a scene within a movie or TV show.
Sources:
Sherlock: Season 2 A Scandal in Belgravia, 2012. [DVD] Paul McGuigan, United Kingdom: BBC Wales.
Sherlock: Season 2, 2012. [DVD] Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, United Kingdom: BBC Wales. (This was for a DVD extra called Sherlock uncovered
Maschelli, J.V, 1965. The Five C’s of Cinematography. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press.
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