Deliberate frame composition — how subject is positioned, cropped, and arranged within borders. Weight and meaning through placement, not size alone.
Cadrage determines what the viewer sees and—more importantly—what they don't see. It's not the focal length alone, nor the size of the subject, that dictates the impact, but its position within the frame. A face placed in the bottom left tells a different story than the same face placed centrally or in the top right. This deliberate arrangement of elements within the image boundaries is cadrage—the art of creating meaning through placement.
On set, you work with cadrage as soon as you define the framing. The director thinks in subjects and emotions; you think in frames and weight. If a person stands on the left side of the frame and looks into the empty space on the right, tension is created—space for the unknown, for anticipation. Placing them centrally makes the shot appear static, authoritarian, sometimes even trapped. Placed within the Rule of Thirds grid, they follow classical proportions—but cadrage is not dogmatic. Sometimes you consciously need a "wrong" composition to create unease.
The practical challenge: Cadrage only works consistently. If your first shot-reverse-shot pair places the subjects in opposite corners of the frame, the next cut must continue this logic, otherwise you tear the space apart. This becomes immediately visible in the edit (see Editing, Continuity). At the same time, you use cadrage to show power dynamics—who is positioned in the lower part of the frame appears subordinate; who is at the top is dominant. This works subconsciously, but it has an effect.
Cadrage differs from mere choice of image framing through its intentional weighting. A wide aspect ratio (see Aspect Ratio) automatically changes the cadrage—more width means more space for positioning. A tight close-up forces you into more precise placement. Combined with lighting, depth of field, and movement, cadrage becomes a tool for emotional architecture. You don't need grand gestures—often a subtle shift of a few centimeters is enough to save or ruin a shot.