The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
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Framing an interview shot
This resource is kindly provided by media co-op.
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1: Medium Close Up (MCU) is the most common shot size for an interview
- Frames a subject’s head and cuts off around the mid-chest
- The focus is on the subject
- Reveals only a little of their surroundings
- Shows the facial expression of the subject
2: Remember to leave headroom
Headroom is the space between the subject’s head and the top of the frame.
Too much headroom will make your subject look like they’re sinking in the frame
You need some headroom so you don’t cut your subject’s head off. Even when the head touches top of the frame it’s very distracting for the viewer.
3: Looking room
You should always leave ‘looking room’ on the side that the interviewee is facing.
Plus a little bit of space on the other side.
4: Check your shot
A good way to check your shot is right is to have the subject’s eyes roughly on the top line (headroom) and the far right or left line (looking room). That’s called the Rule of Thirds.
