What is The Rule of Thirds?

What is the Rule of Thirds?  It is a "rule of thumb" for composing visual images.  The Rule of Thirds proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.  In the simplest terms, try to avoid staging your character dead centre in the middle of the screen.

Rule of Thirds

Like all rules of cinematography (and film-making generally), the Rule of Thirds is just a guideline. You can break this rule (and all the rules) any time you like. But it's important to know what the rules are, so that when you do break them - you're doing it for a reason, and not by mistake. 

Rules of Cinematography
We have many free resources on camera and cinematography at Animation Apprentice

• Why Animators Have Too Many Cuts - Keep It Simple!
• How to Create a Shot Camera in Maya
• Why Camera Always Follows, Never Leads
• Why Animators Should Avoid Jump Cuts
• Understanding The 180 degree Rule ("Crossing The Line")
• Avoid "Motion Sickness Camera" - Keep it Simple
• Don't "Break the 4th Wall"
• Understand The "Magic Circle" - With Brad Bird

To find out more about Animation Apprentice, click here for a link to Frequently Asked Questions. To sign up for our next classroom at Animation Apprentice, follow this link.