The rule of thirds can help you get your composition right. When you look through your viewfinder or at your screen, imagine three evenly spaced lines running horizontally and another three vertically, giving you a total of nine rectangles. Following the rule of thirds, the subject of the shot should be placed on or near where the lines intersect.
Non-moving subjects lend themselves especially well to the rule of thirds. In a land-scape, find the main point of interest – a hut on a mountain, perhaps, or an elephant in the savannah. If you’re interviewing a person, the main point of focus should be their eyes.
Be careful: autofocus on DSLRs and smartphones is usually in the middle of the frame. Use the focus-lock function on DSLRs by centring on your subject, half-depressing the shutter release until it locks focus, then recomposing your shot. With smartphones it’s even easier: just touch and hold the screen on the subject, and it will find and lock focus accordingly.
Don’t be a slave to the rule of thirds, though. As long as you understand it well, you should feel free to experiment and discover what unusual compositions can do for your video.
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