From the course: PowerPoint: Transforming Presentations with Cinematic Effects

Composition: Where to place each element - PowerPoint Tutorial

From the course: PowerPoint: Transforming Presentations with Cinematic Effects

Start my 1-month free trial Buy for my team

Composition: Where to place each element

"

- [Instructor] You don't need to be a designer to create visually appealing and balanced compositions. In fact, by understanding some basic design principles and applying them to your slides, you can strategically position each element and use them to capture your audience's attention at just the right moment. Think about when you're watching a film. There are numerous characters and actions unfolding on screen. Without a clear focus point, it becomes hard to understand the narrative or keep track of which actions are crucial to the story. The same goes for presentations. When you have a lot of information, graphics, or photos without any order, it becomes harder for your audience to follow along and understand your message. Movie directors use different techniques to guide the camera's focus on specific elements in their frames. We can learn from the greats and apply these same techniques to enhance our presentations. These include the rule of thirds, applying symmetry, use of negative space, and depth of field. Let's explore each one and how they can help us visually enhance our slides. Our first technique, the rule of thirds, is a composition guideline, which involves dividing the frame into nine equal parts by using two evenly spaced horizontal lines and two evenly spaced vertical lines forming a grid. The intersections of these lines, known as focal points, provide opportunities to create more balance and engaging visuals by strategically placing subjects or important elements in these areas. The second technique, symmetry, involves having an invisible guideline running through the middle of the frame, either vertically or horizontally with similar elements on both sides. This creates a sense of balance and formality, which is helpful for corporate presentations. Third is negative space or white space. This is the area within a composition that is not occupied by the main subject matter. It plays a vital role in achieving a balanced composition, guiding attention towards the focal point, and providing space for titles and other graphics. The final concept, depth of field, refers to the distance between elements in a composition. It allows you to make some areas appear sharply focused while the rest looks blurry, creating the illusion of depth and drawing attention to specific elements. Now it's time to apply these cinematic composition concepts in PowerPoint. Start by learning how to add guides and create grids for your slides next.

Inhalt