camera shots, angles and movement

Camera Shots, Angles and Movement.

Camera Shot• Extreme Long Shot (ELS) • Also known as an establishing shot.

Often used at the beginning of a sequence to ‘establish’ the setting in which the scene takes place.

Extreme Long Shot from Mission Impossible 2

Camera Shot• Long Shot (LS)• A shot that portrays the scene in a

realistic perspective. It can also be defined as a Full Shot, a shot that contains a person from head to toe. This can be used to draw the audience into a scene after an establishing shot.

Long Shot from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Long Shot / Full shot from Burke and Hare

Camera Shot• Mid Shot (MS) • A shot depicting a person from the

waist up. Can be used for dialogue• 2 shot• A MS containing 2 people. Used for

travelling scenes and dialogue.• 3 shot • A MS containing 3 people. Used for

travelling scenes and dialogue.

Mid Shot from Kill Bill

2 Shot from X- Men: First Class

3 Shot from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Camera Shot• Close Up (CU) • A shot depicting a person from the

shoulders/neck up or depicting a specific item or prop in the scene. Used to draw the audience’s attention to a specific person or item. Can be used for dialogue

Close Up from United 93

Camera Shot• Extreme Close Up (ECU)• A detailed shot either displaying a

person’s facial feature (i.e. the eye.) or an important object. Used for dramatic effect to display emotions or to draw the audience’s attention

Extreme Close Up from The Lord of The Rings

Extreme Close Up from The Lord of The Rings

Camera Angle• Bird’s Eye View• A high angled shot normally directly

overhead the character. Combined with an ELS it can be used to establish a scene.

Birds Eye View shot from Kill Bill

Camera Angle• High Angle • Shot by the camera pointing down at

the character. Can be used to diminish a character and make them seem smaller.

High Angle shot from North by Northwest

Camera Angle• Eye Level • Most commonly used angle. Used to

depict dialogue and in most other scenes. This gives a naturalistic effect to the scene.

Eye Level shot from Kill Bill

Camera Angle• Low Angle • Shot by the camera pointing up at the

character. Can be used to add height to buildings, but can also make characters seem taller and more threatening.

Low Angle shot from Inglorious Basterds

Camera Angle• Dutch Angles• The camera is tipped and not level with

the floor. This gives a sense of unease to the scene. This angle is more commonly used in the Horror or suspense genre.

Dutch Angle from The Third Man

Camera Movement• Pan • Horizontal camera movement across a

scene• Tilt • Vertical camera movement across a

scene.

Camera Movement• Tracking (Dolly Shots) • Camera moves alongside the action.

These can be aerial (achieved by a crane), in a car, or more conventionally on a dolly.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQv8OavpALQ

Camera Movement• Aerial Shot • Usually an ELS shot from an aeroplane

or a helicopter. Used to give a sense of grandeur and exhilaration

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s5KFbyBmrQ (2.13)

Camera Movement• Zoom • Used to focus on an object within a

scene without editing. Can be achieved by a zoom lens or by physically moving the camera closer to the object

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OCrkaMaBbY

Storyboards• Storyboards are used by most film

directors as a means to visualise the shots in a film sequence before they shoot them.

• The Cohen Brothers use story boards extensively during their filming allowing them to carefully plan each of their shots.