So there was this one reblog on that post where I discussed Center framing, Composition, and Male Gaze with this comment:
The comment continues in typical mansplaining manner but I want to address this first bit specifically. Because the assumption that the women are framed that way because it’s an action shot is wrong from a technical standpoint.
There is a difference between Wanda gesturing with her hands almost having no space for her head in a composition that highlighted her breasts …
…and the way Tony is given ‘headroom’ while gesturing with his hands (see: any Iron Man Trailer). He still has his face prominent at the sweet spot of the Golden Ratio (for more discussion on what/where this is scroll down to the diagrams), his hands are on the other sweet spot, and it’s a very dynamic pose with great use of diagonals both foreground and background.
There is also a difference between Natasha almost having to bend her head so that her face stays on the screen while her chest and hips land in the sweet spots…
And the headspace that is given Thor. Thor’s face lands on upper Third (Rule of Thirds). They are both holding/threatening with weapons.
But wait! you say, what if we want to emphasize the weapons?
Yeah there’s a way to do that too, without sexualizing your character and smashing their head almost off the frame…
I enjoyed Age of Ultron, but these are some very excellent points. Also, am I wrong in thinking that in Iron Man 2, when Natasha is going down that hallway, beating the crap out of the guys in it, that a lot of the focus is more on her face? Not entirely, but more than it is here? Oh…
oh.
I just looked it up (thanks Tumblr for the the new gif feature!)
Originally posted by geekimus-prime
….my eye goes to her face but also her boobs. It’s hard for me to analyze in a moving gif though why hat is, other than the top with a great big triangle of flesh screaming LOOK DOWN. (the coloring may or may not be altered in this gif, too, like an upped contrast that is aiding that, idk)
She’s also more off-center than I realized in this shot. It’s like this technique is so common I can’t even see it unless I’m looking for it o_O
The term you’re looking for here is diagonal composition. Where are the diagonals pointing?
Look again at the background spaces behind Thor and Tony, the arches are pointing at Thor’s face and the architecture is pointing at the repulsor. Now go look at what the edges of the building is doing for Wanda and Natasha.
Im on mobile and on a break, but Google “diagonal composition in photography” if you want to look into the effects of diagonals more. It’s a bit more advanced than golden rule framing but not by much. (Though I would hesitate to do composition analysis on that shot off a cropped gif, you still can’t get away from the diagonals.)
Ooh thank you! That actually makes total sense to me, because I’ve worked in picture framing before, and a lot of that is about: “are you bringing the eye in, or out? What are you drawing the eye towards, if you are drawing it in or out?” (because you don’t want to draw the eye towards the frame, usually – you want to draw it towards the picture or objects, or a specific part or aspect of the picture or objects). Though in the case of picture framing it’s usually more simple, in that it’s more on an actual outline or series of asymmetrical outlines it still serves the same function: to point the eye towards what’s in the “center”. So now that you’ve pointed that out, I can see it at work. :)
This also makes me suddenly realize that the reason they make so many female characters’ tops zip down is…even MORE male gazey than I thought >_> “hey look, my clothing is not only showing actual boobflesh, it’s also pointing towards my waist and hips and crotch!”
Getting off my ass and finally posting these because I’d finally gotten a free picture editor that did what I wanted it to. All AOU caps come from the main trailer, The IM2 screencap comes from one of the trailers.
Look at where the women’s faces are. Then look at the men’s. That area is called the upper/lower thirds and where you’d put scrolling titles and name cards:
(the rest of the discussion including how some of the most potentially objectifying moments in Fury Road is subverted by composition/blocking/lighting)