American television directory (1946)

tent or in line, mass or form. Any irrelevant elements will raise doubts in the mind of the viewer as to what is intended. 2 — Variety More than anything else it is variety that holds the attention of the audience. It must be kept under control, however, or the state of unity will be disrupted. Not only is it essential in individual shots, but variety of type, mood, pace and proportion is essential in building continuity. In the linear structure of the picture there must be variety in the kind of line, the direction, the spacing, and the accent. The picket fence lacks variety and keeps people out, so does the linear structure that is not varied. The same holds true for mass and form. The checkerboard is monotonous. Variety, however, is not used for its own sake; it is used for aesthetic reasons dictated by our subconscious reaction to rhythm and to space and measure. In composing a picture, the beginner will tend to look at the objects of which it consists, whereas it is the spaces between them, and/or the shapes of those areas between that make the picture what it is. This is particularly true in television because most of the pictures consist of medium close-ups of people. Over and over again these same shapes are used. Only by constantly varying spaces and measures can this amount of repetition be tolerated. 3 — Harmony Harmony involves both unity and va¬ riety, for it implies the putting together of unlike but related things. It is an important element in holding the pic¬ ture together. 4 — Balance Balance is so intimately tied into our physical state that we are subconscious¬ ly aware of any condition of unbalance. Through the functioning of the internal ear, a state of balance is maintained that enables us to stand or move about without toppling over. We subconscious¬ ly demand a state of balance in pictures. To understand how this may be achieved, it must be realized that a pic¬ ture is made up of separate units, each of which has weight, in the sense of pulling power or attraction to the eye. These units consist of line, mass, color, and direction or speed of movement. All of these elements must be kept not nec¬ essarily in complete balance but close to it, except in those instances where, by departing from balance intentionally, a specific effect is achieved. Keeping in mind that each unit of a picture has weight due to its attraction, it will be seen that balance is achieved through the control of the relative attraction of lines, masses, colors, or movement. At¬ traction may be controlled by placement, contrast, emphasis, repetition, and in the case of movement, by direction and speed. By way of further amplification, the following statements can be made. They should be memorized and fully comprehended. a — Vertical lines have more effect on balance than horizontals. b — Diagonal lines have more attrac¬ tion than either vertical or horizontal. c — A vertical line cutting through the center of the picture makes it impos¬ sible to achieve anything but formal balance, and is bad, because it cuts the picture in two. d — A large mass may be balanced by a small one by placing it in an empty area. This is the principle of the lever or the seesaw. e — A unit in an empty area near the edge has more attraction than in the center. f — A unit in the foreground has less attraction than in the middle distance, provided the contrasts are the same. g — An area surrounded by a hard edge has more attraction than if the edge is soft. h — Repetition of a unit weakens its attraction. The exception to this is when a principal character in the fore¬ ground is supported by others directly in back of it. Then it is strengthened by repetition. i — Black against white, or white against black has more attraction than black or white against gray. j — A small white unit in a large black area will have more attraction than the reverse, for the reason that the eye in¬ stinctively seeks light. k — The eye goes first to the point of strongest contrast in value or color, or the strongest line; in the case of move¬ ment, it is attracted by change in di¬ rection. 1 — The eye is attracted to geometric or symbolic shapes, particularly if they seem to be formed by happenstance. m — Emphasis may be achieved by a gradation in tone. The eye will follow this gradation in a direction toward the light. Since we are dealing with a visual subject, it will be found helpful to vitalize the principles involved, whereever possible. For instance, a mental picture of balance itself as applied to pictures will be of great help, especially in times of stress when it is necessary to compose on the fly. The analogy of the scales is apt, because balance is the relationship of weights. We should, therefore carry in our minds symbolic images representing formal and in¬ formal balance as it is used in both the vertical and horizontal (perspec¬ tive) plane. Equal weights at equal distances from the center or fulcrum convey a static feeling, hence formal balance is more often applied to decorative design. Unequal weights at unequal distances from the fulcrum are the form most commonly used in television because of the feeling of variety. Examples of Informal Balance This drawing illustrates informal balance in the vertical plane. This drawing illustrates informal balance in the perspective plane. 5 — Rhythm The word rhythm suggests music or the dance. Though its application to pictorial composition is not obvious, it is actually of vital importance, and the analogy of the dance is very apt. Take the rhythm of the waltz : One-two-threeone-two-three-, or more particularly the accented rhythm — one-two-three-one-two three. Think of it in terms of movement rather than cadence of sound — in terms of eye movement as it goes from one line or shape to another in looking at a picture. Now apply it to one of the commonest pictures in television — the three-shot. [See illustrations, page 66.] Note that by merely shifting the positions of the three characters and lowering the camera to get variety in height, we have made the arrangement interesting by adding rhythm. In fact, we have created three rhythms. By moving two of the heads closer together, the accented rhythm of the waltz — onetwo-three — has been introduced in spac¬ ing. By having one of the characters seen in profile and the other two in three-quarter view, we have rhythm of body position. And again, by the change in head level, still another rhythm has been added. Rhythm is particularly effective when applied to line pattern and to move¬ ment. A rhythmic pattern in the linear structure of the set, when it echoes the rhythmic disposition and movement of the characters, produces the ultimate in effect. In building continuity it is by means of rhythmic patterns that moods are 65