Open vs closed shot

Open vs closed shot - Calm young Asian female wearing casual clothes and face mask standing at shabby rural shop doorway and removing open sing

Would you classify this image from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children as an open frame or a closed frame? Why?

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Best Answer

I'd say closed because of the balance and symmetry, and presuming it is a static shot. Depends some on the scene/story and use of the shot in the sequence. But it could also be considered "open" because it shows a somewhat wider angle than a medium shot.

per: "Re-examining the Traditional Principles of Cinematography of Modern Movies: A Case Study of Children of Men and Clerks II" by Cornelia HÃ¥kansson

Open and closed framings determine if the viewer is included or excluded from the picture span. Open framing is when the object and situation within the picture space is not set and positioned for best clarity before filming. Open framings can often be seen in documentaries for example. Closed framing is when subjects are positioned with care for best graphical balance. Open framings appears more realistic for the viewer as closed framings seem more staged and controlled.

This article also references Steven Katz's "Film directing: shot by shot" and explains:

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In the closed framing shot on the left, the viewer is led towards a stronger emotional response. This framing also stresses the importance of whatever the actress is looking at. This does not depend on the subject being larger. Rather, it's due to the subject overpowering the image.

The open framing shot on the right is more objective, requires a lower emotional response and allows the viewer to wander over the frame. We can consider this more theatrical because the picture borders relate directly with stage boundaries.

Having read Katz's book in film school, I kind of think of "open" shots as those kinds of shots where, for example, the audience is expecting that the antagonist might pop up, like when the protagonist is looking screen right while screen right such that tension is built by the audience imagining the negative space on screen left might get filled at any minute by the antagonist. I think of "closed" shots are the ones where everything required for the narrative is in the frame. But these are of course somewhat arbitrary. Much will depend on the use of framing within the context of the scene, the particular sequence and the overall narrative of the story. Honestly tho, outside of film school and having worked in features for awhile... I never once heard either term used, but I wasn't working much in the cinematography side of things.

Here's a list contrasting open and closed "form" in cinema which might help you wrap your head around how to think of the distinction.




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Open Frame vs Closed Frame Filming




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Images: Ketut Subiyanto, Polina Kovaleva, Kyle Zheng, Brett Sayles