I recently went to a Machinima conference held in Melbourne. I have been patiently waiting for the audio recordings from ACMI for the last two weeks so I can upload onto the blog.

One of the points raised was that Machinima is so much like real life filmmaking that you should do a film course or at least read some books on filmmaking. The techniques of writing, composition, camera movement and editing are the same for both.

Making machinima is such a great tool to practice real life techniques, especially when it comes to refining composition. There are some very important rules to framing and composition but is largely a personal aesthetic choice and will help to define an individual style.

Machinima is a great tool to experiment with composition as the camera is so easy to move and you can easily find a frame that works best.

Composition is all about leading the eyes of the audience to what is most important in the shot and what you want them to see. Each setup should say exactly what you want it to say.
The things that stand out are
1. the hottest spot of light
2. movement
3. the person who is talking

Avoid shooting at eye level, go either below of above. Below gives a better view of the eyes

Be specific and find motivation for the image. Look for dynamic compositions that are easy to read, keeping it clean and simple. Try to create depth in your shot by placing actors or objects in foreground, midground and background. Orson Welles was famous for this technique.

Watch some classic films to see master filmmakers use the camera to create a distinctive and emotive style. Hitchcock, Fellini, Sergio Leone, Coen Brothers films, and the list goes on.

Some more general rules of composition can be found here
This article explains rule of thirds