Lesson 1 · Days 1–5 · 6 min read
Composition
Where you put the person in the picture.
Composition just means: what goes inside the rectangle. You don't change a single setting. You only decide where the person sits in the picture and how big they are. This is the fastest way to make video look good, and it's free — and it works exactly the same on your Pocket 3 as it does on a $6,000 cinema camera.
Read out loud, so you can just watch and listen.
Watch it move — that's what you're aiming for.
What you need to know
Eyes near the top
Imagine the screen split into three across, like a tic-tac-toe board. Put the person's eyes on that top line. That one habit fixes most beginner shots straight away.
Its real name: the rule of thirds
That tic-tac-toe grid has a grown-up name — the rule of thirds. Pros say "put them on a third". Bonus level: the four spots where the lines cross are called power points. Parking one eye right on a crossing makes an interview shot look instantly intentional.
A little space above the head
Not a big empty gap of ceiling, and not the top of their head chopped off. Just a small strip. That's it.
Three sizes of shot
Wide: you see the whole room. Medium: chest up, the normal talking shot. Close: just the face, for when they say something that matters. On the Pocket 3 you change size by walking closer or further away — your feet are the zoom. Using all three makes a video feel like a real show instead of one long clip.
Leave room where they're looking
If someone looks toward the side of the picture, give them more space in front of their face than behind it. If their nose nearly touches the edge, the shot feels squashed and weird — like they're about to walk into a wall.
Camera at their eye height
Hold the Pocket 3 about as high as their eyes while they're sitting, or set it on the little tripod at that height. Lower makes it look like you're filming from the floor. Higher makes it look like a security camera.
Tall or wide — pick on purpose
Twist the Pocket 3's screen and it flips between wide (landscape) for YouTube and tall (portrait) for TikTok and Reels. Decide before you record, because you can't magic the sides back later.
Keep it straight and check the edges
The gimbal keeps the picture level for you, which is a gift. Your job is the edges: before you press record, look at all four of them — a bag, a cable or someone's elbow sneaking in is the most common beginner mistake.
On your Osmo Pocket 3
Exactly where to look
- Turn on grid lines in the settings so the tic-tac-toe lines are drawn on the screen for you.
- Twist the screen sideways to switch between wide and tall filming.
- Walk closer or further to go from wide, to medium, to close.
- Stand it on the mini tripod (or the magnetic mount) so the shot stays still while you look at it.
- Raise it until the lens is level with their eyes — books, a stand, anything works.
At Aura House
Two chairs, three angles
Aura House podcast rooms have two chairs and multiple angles. One camera sees both people — that's the safe shot that always works. The others each look at one person. Your Pocket 3 is perfect as the extra angle: tiny, silent, and it can sit right on the table for a close-up nobody expects. In editing you cut to whoever is talking.
Hands on
Try this in real life
- 1Turn on the grid lines on the Pocket 3.
- 2Film someone with their eyes on the top line.
- 3Now park one of their eyes exactly on a crossing — a power point.
- 4Film them looking off to one side, with space in front of their face.
- 5Film the same person three ways: wide, medium, close — using your feet.
- 6Twist the screen and shoot the same shot tall for Reels.
Three things to remember
- Eyes on the top line — that's the rule of thirds, and the crossings are power points.
- Space in front of the face, a small strip above the head.
- Wide, medium, close — use all three, camera at eye height.
Composition costs nothing. It's just paying attention to the rectangle.