Visual Composition
This is G o o g l e's cache of http://direct.vtheatre.net/compos.html as retrieved on 10 Feb 2005 07:20:22 GMT.
Google is not affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its content. Children are divided on `monkeys' and `make believers,' who compose and create their own world. The same with actors -- `eye-dropping' (borrowing from life) and creating. In grotesque `stealing from life' is allowed because from noticing to creating a figure (image) lays an enormous distance." From Meyerhold's lecture described by Sergey Eisenstein amazon.com *


'If you don't see, you can't stage it.' Anatoly

stage Directing Theory

Framing:

A "frame" in a photograph is something in the foreground that leads you into the picture or gives you a sense of where the viewer is. For example, a branch and some leaves framing a shot of rolling hills and a valley, or the edge of an imposing rock face leading into a shot of a canyon. Framing can usually improve a picture. The "frame" doesn’t need to be sharply focused. In fact if it is too sharply detailed, it could be a distraction.

DIRECTING

Visual composition is an established field in Fine Art.

There are basic geometrical figures to analize it -- circle, square, triangle... their combinations and there are also vertical, horizontal lines. There is always is the special hidden composition in each masterpiece. I would even recommend to "steal" -- yes, in your preproduction period search for each scene's static representation in paintings... the rest of mise-en-scene is the way to get there.

In fact, this is "blocking" -- arranging masses, colors, directions. Called "blocking" because early directors conveyed staging instructions by drawing a grid on stage floor and labeling each stage position, or "block."

Also, it helps your designers -- set, light, costumes.

And actors. This is SPECTACLE (remember Aristotle ).

Directing is processing the rest 5 principles through this one! Ideas have physical expressions...
It's theatre. You have to STAGE it.

Focus, Visual & Dramatic Composition, Vectors, Floor Plan

Pre-production process will help you to find the visual style and to communicate your visions with cast and crew. Each show has its own style and to express it, is your directorial duty.

Composition rules :
Implied lines hold the picture together. Use lines in photographs to focus attention.
The eye will always go to the lightest and brightest colors. Use contrast to identify your subject/purpose
The visual "center" of a picture is not the "bull's eye center", but the intersection of vertical and horizontal thirds. Use thirds.
Look for ways to give the center of interest in your pictues the most visual attention by looking for visual simplicity.
Achiving good informal balance is another composition rule leading to professional looking results.
A "frame" in a photograph is something in the foreground that leads you into the picture or gives you a sense of where the viewer is. Framing can usually improve a picture. The "frame" doesn’t need to be sharply focused
When the subject is capable of movement, such as an animal or person, it is best to leave space in front of the subject so it appears to be moving into, rather than out of, the photograph.

Summary
Direction of movement : When the subject is capable of movement, such as an animal or person, it is best to leave space in front of the subject so it appears to be moving into, rather than out of, the "frame"...
Diagonals : Linear elements such as roads, waterways, and fences placed diagonally are generally perceived as more dynamic than horizontals.

... the "rule of thirds." This is a principle taught in graphic design and photography and is based on the theory that the eye goes naturally to a point about two-thirds up the page. Also, by visually dividing the image into thirds (either vertically or horizontally) you achieve the informal or asymmetric balance.

visual path: landscape rules (paintings)
Questions
Unity - nothing distracts from the whole you have unity.
visual elements **
Emphasis = "Center of Interest."

Art Quote of the Day
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Leonardo da Vinci

Opposition - on contrasting visual concepts.
The first rule of proportion is the golden mean, which is a ratio of approximately 1:1.62.12 The ancient Greeks discovered that many natural objects, such as pine cones, flowers, and animal shells, are constructed according to this proportion; it is what we have in mind when we say that something is "well balanced." for example, the ratio between successive segments approximates the golden mean. Repetition and rhythm

The "Power Points" created by the intersecting lines were where they wanted the viewer to focus their attention - and it worked! By placing the main subject on a power point, it brought the focal point of the image to the subject. If there was more than one main subject, placing them on any of the other points worked in the same way - drawing the viewer's attention where the artist wanted it to be and giving the composition "balance". Of course, it's not easy to divide a viewfinder into eight equal parts while trying to compose a photo, thus, the Rule of Thirds was developed.

Balance and Weight: To be pleasing to the eye a composition must be well balanced. Dark colors add weight to an image, while lighter colors add space. In most cases, you don't want the subject to appear to be "floating" in space, so something to serve as an "anchor" will give the image balance.

Simplicity: Keeping the scene limited to only what you want the viewer to see (that is, keeping any unnecessary elements out which may be distracting or detracting from the subject).

Key Element(s): This ties in very closely with the simplicity of a composition. Most compositions have one or maybe two main subjects that are the focal point(s) of the image. Always try to make sure there is some sort of relationship factor with the subjects that complement each other.

Lines and Patterns: Is there a certain "flow" to the composition with diagonal, vertical or horizontal lines or patterns? Keep in mind the orientation of your subject when trying to compose the frame - use these elements to enhance the subject and not detract from it. Also always remember to keep the horizon line "LEVEL" in the frame. A level horizon will give the viewer some symmetry to the composition.
Directing: "...outside of agitation, the cinema does not exist." Montage of Cine-Attractions
VISUAL COMPOSITION

If there are "compositions" on stage (visual), director must be a composer. He follows the dramatic "composer" -- playwright. The great paintings of the past are the great source of learning about composing for stage.
Most of the pages on the subject are in Film Directing (above navigation) directory, but I wish

DRAMA

• Drama is a literary composition involving conflict, action crisis and atmosphere designed to be acted by players on a stage before an audience. This definition may be applied to motion picture drama as well as to the traditional stage.
• Apply these questions to a recent movie you have seen or a radio or television drama,
• Conflict
• What did the leading character want?
• What stood in his way? (People - environment- personality, etc,)
• What was the high point of tension or the crisis? (This is where the leading character must make a crucial decision that will effect the outcome of the play.)
• Character analysis
• Are the characters true to life or are they types or caricatures?
• How is the character revealed?
• What is the driving force of each leading character?
• If a character changes, are the causes convincing and true to life?
• Setting
• Are the sets appropriate?
• Are they attractive?
• Are they authentic?
• Critical standards useful for drama, novel, motion pictures:
• What is the chief emphasis (ideas, character, atmosphere)?
• What was the purpose? (entertainment, humor, excitement)?
• Is it realistic or romantic?
• Does it show life as it really is or distort life?
• Does it present any problem of human relationship?
• Does it glamorize life and present an artificial happy ending?
• Types of Drama:
• Tragedy -- In general, tragedy involves the ruin of the leading characters. To the Greeks, it meant the destruction of some noble person through fate, To the Elizabethans, it meant in the first place death and in the second place the destruction of some noble person through a flaw in his character. Today it may not involve death so much as a dismal life, Modern tragedy often shows the tragedy not of the strong and noble but of the weak and mean,
• Comedy -- is lighter drama in which the leading characters overcome the difficulties which temporarily beset them
• Problem Play -- Drama of social criticism discusses social, economic, or political problems by means of a play.
• Farce -- When comedy involves ridiculous or hilarious complications without regard for human values, it becomes farce.
• Comedy of Manners -- Comedy which wittily portrays fashionable life.
• Fantasy -- A play sometimes, but not always, in comic spirit in which the author gives free reign to his fantasy, allowing things to happen without regard to reality.
• Melodrama -- Like farce, melodrama pays almost no attention to human values, but its object is to give a thrill instead of a laugh. Often good entertainment, never any literary value.
• Types of Drama of Historical Interest:
• Medieval mystery plays -- dealt with Bible stories and allegorical mysteries.
• Chronicle plays -- dealt directly with historical scenes and characters.
• Masques -- were slight plays involving much singing and dancing and costuming. They were usually allegorical.
• Drama is the most dependent of art forms -- director, actors, scene and costume designers must interpret before the audience does.
• The Place of the Actor
• The player should respect his play, his part, his fellow players, and his audience.
• He should have imagination enough to create character for us instead of merely exploiting his own personality.
• He should have a technical equipment in his 'voice, facial expression, bodily poise, gesture, and by-play that enables him to project the character as he conceives it.
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• More Literary Terms

• (Drama)

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• 1. Allusion - an indirect reference by casually mentioning something that is generally familiar (In literature we find many allusions to mythology, the Bible, history, etc.)
• 2. Aside - Lines whispered to the audience or to another character on stage (not meant to be heard by all the characters on stage)
• 3. Catastrophe - the final event in a drama (a death in a tragedy or a marriage in a comedy)
• 4. Comedy - A light play with a happy ending
• 5. Comic Relief - A bit of humor injected into a serious play to relieve the heavy tension of tragic events
• 6. Crisis or Climax - the turning point in the plot (This occurs when events develop either for or against the main character and a crucial decision must be made.)
• 7. Dramatic Irony - occurs when the audience knows something that the character on stage is not aware.
• 8. Foreshadow - Lines that give a hint or clue to future events (It doesn't tell the future but hints at it.)
• 9. Irony -
• A method of expression in which the ordinary meaning of the word is opposite to the thought in the speaker's mind
• Events contrary to what would be naturally expected
• 10. Metaphor - an implied comparison between two different things; identifying a person or object as the thing to which it is being compared.
  Example: 'It is the East and Juliet is the sun.' - 'tossed on the sea of life'
• 11. Metonymy - a figure of speech whereby the name of a thing is substituted for the attribute which it suggests. Example: The pen (power of literature or the written word) is mightier than the sword (force).
• 12. Nemesis - agent of retribution (the person who punishes)
• 13. Personification - giving the quality of life to inanimate things
• 14. Poetic Justice - The operation of justice in a play with fair distribution of rewards for good deeds and punishment for wrong doing
• 15. Simile - an expressed comparison between two different things using 'like' or 'as' - Example: 'eyes twinkle like stars' - 'as loud as the roaring sea'
• 16. Soliloquy - A single character on stage thinking out loud (a way of letting the audience know what is in the character's mind)
• 17. Tragedy - A serious play having an unhappy ending
• 18. Tragic Flaw - A character trait that leads one to his/her own downfall or destruction