Making Your Story Stronger - eBook

Here is a free ebook from the Still Motion Blog: One Rule that Will Make Your Stories Stronger.

In the book they talk about the "three over one" rule which they apply to a variety of contexts.

In terms of story you want to have three distinct sections: Beginning, middle and end.

1. The beginning is an open, a start, or some sort of introduction to the sequence. A major goal of the beginning is to create a hook, to pull the viewer in.
2. The major goal of the middle will build on this beginning. The middle builds tention to prep the end.
3. The ending will then close, leave, or exit the sequence. A major goal of the ending is to create a jab, an impact on the viewer. 

In terms of shots you want to aim to get three distinct viewpoints (focal lengths): Wide, medium and close. 

1. Tight shots are great at communicating details.
2. Medium shots are great at communicating relationships
3. Wide shots are great at communicating environments.

They also apply this rule to the number of shots you take. In short, it's better to have three shots rather than one. See this video to see their unique approach to shooting for large numbers of short clips: http://stillmotionblog.com/h234hs23dkw21/. They hold each shot for approximately three seconds. 

The Hitchcock Rule says that the size of any object in your frame should be proportional to its importance to the story at that moment.