Camera shots, angles and movements

Camera Shots

Long shot (LS) : Shot which shows you most of the fairly large subject, for example a person and usually much of the surroundings.

Extreme Long shot (ELS): Camera is at its furthest distance from the subject, emphasizing the background.

Establishing shot: Opening shot or sequence, tells us where it is happening and it usually opens the scene (setting).

Medium shot: This shot is waist up to the head of the subject.

Close up shot: Close up of the subject, usually a face.

Extreme close up: A very zoomed in frame usually emphasising a feature of a face e.g.- an eye.

Two shots: When there are relationships with two subject. For example when two people are side by side and they are walking towards the camera. They usually have equal space between them.

Point of view shot: In a film it shows what the character is looking at. This is done to show a subjects point of view.

Camera angles

The direction and the height of the shot, for example if you use a high shot (facing down at the subject) it could represent vulnerability.
A low angle shot can show the subjects superiority and an over head shot is a very high positioned camera showing action (camera facing up at the subject).

 

Camera Movement

Master shot: This is when you can see everything directly in front of you.

Panning shot: This is when the camera moves slowly across the set from one side to the other from a fixed angle.

Tilt: This is when the camera it tilted from the subjects point of view.

Crane shot: This is when the camera is on a crane and it moves around above the set and films everything from above .

Tracking shot or Dolly shot: This is when the camera follows the subject everywhere, for example the camera is following the subject running in a scene.

Zoom: when a camera moves toward the subject to show a close up.