What is The Framework? - Cinematography Basics
What is Patrick O'Sullivan's cinematography Framework?
The Framework explained!
What is The Framework? In this cinematography basics video, I try and explain in my own way, what Patrick O'Sullivan's cinematography Framework is.
Make sure to check out Patrick's work if you haven't already!
http://www.patrickosullivandp.com/
http://wanderingdp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/wanderingdp https://www.instagram.com/wanderingdp/?hl=en
In this video, I'm going to breakdown my interpretation of Patrick O'Sullivan's cinematography framework, into five easy steps.
If you're interested in learning more about cinematography, chances are you have probably already heard about Patrick O'Sullivan. For those of you that haven't, Patrick is a cinematographer and creator of the "The Wandering DP" Podcast, he has also been putting more and more breakdowns on YouTube as well. He shares a wealth of knowledge from his experience as a working cinematographer and has become a fantastic learning resource for those of us interested in improving our own work.
If you have watched his YouTube videos before or listened to the podcast, you have more than likely heard him reference "The Framework".
So what is it?
I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what every aspect of "The Framework" is, this is just my interpretation and understanding of it, in as simple a way as possible.
So let's jump into it!
I'll start off by saying "The Framework" is not be all and end all, of what makes a good looking image.
It's not a set of rules, they are more like guidelines...
To get an image that he personally likes. It just happens to be a look, that a lot of other people like as well and so there are a few recurring elements that make up "The Framework", which I'll try to explain in this video.
"The Framework" isn't necessarily something you can work into every situation, sometimes you will have to make some sacrifices because of time, location, any number of reasons.
The main goal of following "The Framework" is to avoid a flat image by making it as three-dimensional as possible, using a variety of techniques. By using these methods, it will help you to achieve better-looking images and save time on set, setting up shots.
I've tried to narrow it down into 5 easy to follow ideas:
Number 1
Shoot into the L of the room
Shooting into the L of the room helps to add depth and keep the background interesting. You are trying to create a 3d image inside of a 2D plane. Depth can help you with this.
Number 2
Contrast Ratios
I'm not going to explain the specifics of contrast ratios in this video but for those of you who are unfamiliar, we use contrast ratios to measure the difference in exposure of our frame, these range from 1:1 to 128:1. A contrast ratio of 8:1 would have a 3 stop difference for example.
You want to aim to keep your contrast ratios consistent. Set up for your wide shot and use bounce and negative fill to control your ratios for close up shots. Keep in mind if you are lighting multiple people, how the light will fall, depending on where they are in the shot. This is where good blocking comes into play, the closer your talent is to a light, the softer it will be and vica versa. By setting up for the wide shot first and working around that, you will only have to make small adjustments to your lighting to keep your contrast ratios consistent.
Number 3
Upstage key or reverse key lighting -
I've talked about this a bit before on the channel and I'll put a link to that video, but essentially, upstage lighting is when you have your subject in between your light and the camera. This further helps to add contrast and depth to the image. You want to shoot into the shadow side of your talent. To help with this, when lighting interiors, light through the window you can't see and for exteriors, Keep the sun out of the frame, unless for aesthetic reasons you want or need to have it in shot.
Number 4
Salt & Pepper
Salt and pepper is a term that Patrick uses to describe alternating between light and dark areas in the frame, which helps to add more visual interest in your shot. This is were production design can help as well, with physical object layers in the shot, to add further depth to the image.
Number 5
Exposure.
"The Framework" can be used in a variety of situations and not necessarily just for low-key, dark work.
With that being said, for the most part, to get that dark, moody, low-key look. the IRE levels for the final graded shot are going to be very low. To achieve this, Patrick calls it the squeeze and drop. I'm not 100% on exactly how he goes about it but this is my interpretation.
You want to try and get the most dynamic range out of your camera as possible, particularly in the shadows. This means getting your exposure levels right in camera and reducing that contrast of the log image, squeezing everything you can out of it, so that you can add that contrast back in later and bring down the levels of the whole image when it comes to the colour grade. The detail in the shadows is what is important here and maintaining a good level on the skin tones. Using a monitor LUT can help you achieve this by lowering the contrast of your image and offsetting the exposure when previewing on set.
Bonus
This is another term that Patrick uses a lot, The credit card shot.
This is typically what you would call an insert or a close up of the product, using the framework to make it more interesting.
So that's my basic interpretation of "The Framework"
I know there's probably a lot I've missed out but I wanted to keep it as concise as possible. If you want to find out more about "The Framework" I'd highly recommend checking out Patrick's Podcast and YouTube channel. I've learnt so much from him over the years and so this was a fun one for me to put together. Patrick if you happen to watch this, thank you for your work! and I'm sorry If I've completely misinterpreted "The Framework", I'm always happy to learn more.
Update
I wasn’t up to date with the podcast at the time I made this, however, I have since caught up and I was pleased that I wasn’t too far off with my interpretation though. In Episode #257 Patrick dives into the specifics of the Framework a bit more for those of you interested.
These are my rough notes from the points Patrick mentions:
point of control (sunlight/ location/ practicals etc)
Zone management (contrast control) ratios / how you are going to control that.
Lighting triad (key, wrap, edge) /fill. Salt and pepper.
Depth blocking - camera position, get as much depth as you can. L of the room etc
The invisible hand, make sure nothing is standing out and not looking too lit.
Squeeze and Drop - Make sure the viewer is looking where you want them to. Highlight whatever it is you want to highlight and then drop the rest. Turn down the contrast and take down the offset.