Rule of Thirds, Widescreen Lines on Transparency Paper over an LCD Template?

I've read in various places suggestions to place a piece of transparency paper over you lcd with the lines printed on it for widescreen or the rule of thirds, etc. so that you have a better idea when setting up your shots, has anyone seen a template or anything like that on the web, so that i get the widescreen lines in the right place?

 

Couldn't you draw it up in about three seconds in Photoshop? 640x480, draw two vertical lines and two horizontal lines.

There is no hard-set rule that tells you how to do that.. the "rule of thirds" isn't a "rule" at all.. just set up your shots so that your center of focus isn't dead-center of the frame, and not all the way to one side. Unless you're going for a specific effect by setting it up that way.

 

You can't do it by eye?

 

rule of thirds yes, but not for widescreen. that way i'm not using the in camera widescreen mode which is aweful anyway and i can just crop it in post.

 

Ive done that for about 2 years now. If you want exact measurements it of course depends on your lcd screen on your camera. Other than that its just some simple math to get the scale correct for your widescreen and rule of thirds lines.

Its worked great for us in our films as well s our side business projects.

 

If you send 4 easy payments of $59.99 (us funds), I'll send you a small, 2inch, by 2 inch tempate to go over your camera viewscreen, that will break it into the role of 3's. Offer availale for a limited time only, while supplies last.



[Note to Mods - Not an actual sales pitch. Please don't ban.]

 

Hope you draw better than you spell, Cranie!

 

It's not really that hard to frame something for widescreen by eye. Just try it.

 

The hardest part of eyeballing widescreen for me is close-ups, I always seem to be either too close or too far back on face shots.

-Paul

 

Just a note, If your have the luxury of a preview monitor, which you should always strive for since usually you will get a better idea of what will actually be seen since the viewfinder tends to display a bit more info than a TV will. You can always draw on the glass of the monitor with a sharpy. With a little rubbing alchohol you can clean it right off with no problems. So just use a ruler and a shrapy and draw your frame guides, presto.

 

The rule of thirds is pretty pointless these days. It's an old rule that is used for traditional films. If you want to become a director, you've gotta find your own style and this means ignoring what's been layed out as "lore" in the past.

Widescreen lines on a monitor is only worthwhile if you're filming in 4:3 and intend to crop it later on (i.e. lay bars over the top and bottom of the picture). This is known a letterboxing and is becoming less common.

The only "lore" rule that i will never break is crossing the line. I hate films that cross the line because a) it looks wrong, b) it looks so lame and c) The only films that cross the line are trying to be "trendy" and i hate that!

Please note that all of the above is personal preference. Whenever i film anything, I know what i want to to look like and eye-ball it when filming. I Don't storyboard, never have. I may draw a little sketch for logistic purposes, but that's it. no rule of thirds, no masking tape on the monitor. i just know if it'll work or not.

anyway,

Nick "Shorty" Long