Framing Good Shots

Headroom is the amount of space between an actor's head and the top of the screen. An important tip to remember is to place the subject's eyes on the top third imaginary line, because if the head is any lower, there's too much awkward space above the actor, and too high would create a cramped feeling where the head is in danger of going off screen. A similar concept is look room, which is the space left in front of someone's face, so it gives them room to breathe and space to move . Similar to headroom, it's important to get this amount of space right, because too little can make your subject appear boxed-in and confined by the side of the screen. Lead room is similar to look room, only it applies to moving objects like cars so the motion doesn't seem impeded and it appears the movement has somewhere to go.