In Herbert Zettl’s chapter “The Two-Dimensional Field: Forces Within the Screen” he introduces the ides of the spatial field as it relates to on screen media. He lays out the six field forces as follows:
- Main directions
- Magnetism of frame and attraction of mass
- Asymmetry of the frame
- Figure and ground
- Psychological closure
- Vectors
Horizontal and Vertical Orientation
On a screen the horizontal space is much easier to handle for the viewer than that of the vertical. Thus vertical lines are much more powerful and dynamic.
Applying the to real life it is much easier to move your head from side to side instead of having to look up and down. He uses the examples of the horizon versus the tall ceilings of a cathedral.
Disrupting these axis by turing any image on screen causes an uneasy feeling within the viewer and creates a sense of disorientation.
Using a canted angle within a scene, however can create emphasis and be used in a very dynamic way.
Magnetism of the Frame
The boarders of the picture field tend to act like magnets and thus draw objects towards them.
The center of the screen is considered to be the most stable part of the picture.
In composing as shot it is necessary to consider how the object in frame is going to look. If the object is in contact with both sides of the frame it tends to look as if it is pulling horizontally off the screen. And vice versa for an object on the either the left or right side of the screen.
Having a close up of an image that is large within the frame will make it look much larger due to pull from the frame.
Attraction of Mass
This concept just states that objects that have more mass or are larger within the frame are those that the viewer will be drawn to seeing. He also states that a large mass is more independent than a small mass.
Asymmetry of Frame
The screen is structured in a way that allows us as viewers to perceive it as symmetrical. We are unable to view all parts of the screen at all times and are therefore reliant on this structure.
The left and right asymmetry of the screen image is also something that needs to be considered when framing an image. It is natural for viewers to look from left to right at an image on screen as it is how we read.
Webpages also follow this principle too, with their navigation on the left hand side of the page.
Figure and Ground
We naturally organize the way we view a picture by the figure and ground phenomenon.
The characteristics of the perception of the figure versus the ground are:
- the figure is thing like, perceived as an object. The ground is merely part of the “uncovered” screen area.
- the figure lies in front of the ground
- the line that separates the figure from the ground belongs to the figure, not the ground
- the figure is less stable that the ground; the figure is more likely to move
- the ground seems to continue behind the figure
In this photo, the bird is the figure with the green tree background being the stabilizing force that hold down the figure.
Psychological Closure
We as viewers have a tendency to automatically create closure if an image is not completely intact in order to feel at ease with what exactly we are viewing.
Using a gestalt, we form a perceptual whole that transcends the parts of the object to create this sense of ease.
Proximity, similarity and continuity facilitate this ability to feel closure with an image.
Vectors
Vectors are the inconspicuous forces that drive our eyes to look in a specific direction. Each has a certain magnitude and strength that allows the viewer to perceive its presence.
The vector field is the series of vectors within a frame.
The vector magnitude measures how strong a vector is and how effectively it gets a viewers attention, with a motion vector having the highest magnitude and a graphic vector having the lowest.
Graphic vectors are those that are stationary and guide our eyes in a certain direction.
Index vectors unquestionably point in a specific direction
Motion vectors are created by a moving object in which we follow that object with our eyes.
Two or more index or motion vectors that point in the same direction are described as continuing vectors.
Converging vectors are those that point towards each other in a single shot or even sequence of shots.
Diverging vectors on the other hand point away from each other.
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