Bird’s-Eye View from ‘Les Misérables’ 2012

The Birds-Eye View is often incorporated into film to place the audience in an elevated, god-like position watching the action unfold below from a new, more empowering perspective. Whilst this angle is often considered unnatural, it is a unique perspective of viewing the motions and actions of the film. It can also be use to reinforce how small, and often insignificant people can seem, which is highlighted in the Bird’s-Eye View from ‘Les Misérables’. The shot from this film reinforces a lack of identity to the faceless figures below and creates a sense of blandness and monotony to the factory workers’ lives.

Example of Worm’s-Eye View (in photography)

In contrast, this Worm’s-Eye View shot evokes the opposite effect; it encapsulates the vastness of our surroundings from the perspective of how we would imagine a worm, or another minuscule insect would view the world. Whilst this shot isn’t often used in film as it is often difficult to fit in with a narrative, it is continually used in photography and documentaries based on wildlife and nature. In this context, it allows us to feel more connected to the smaller beings in our universe and see things from an entirely new, unique perspective.

High-Angle from ‘Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)

High-Angle shots are often used to reinforce the sense of anxiety from the character and to make them seem small and more vulnerable. They are often also used in action scenes to highlight the build up in tension and to suggest the power one character may yield over another. This evokes a sense of powerlessness from the audience and establishes a sense of connection and sympathy towards the weaker character in the scene. In this example, Harry is positioned on the floor with his hand placed on the ground and his wand out in defence. His positioning in the frame incorporated with the use of a high-angle underpins his sense of fear and establishes himself as the weaker less dominant character of the scene.

In comparison, Low-Angle shots are used to highlight the powerful dominance of the characters displayed on-screen and make them seem superior and intimidating to the audience. It creates an unusual effect as the audience is viewing the action from below making them feel powerless to the characters and feel sympathy towards the on-screen recipient of their stares. In this low-angle shot from ‘Inglourious Basterds’ the two characters are positioned crouched above either an object or person, it is unclear. However this angle, incorporated with the confident looking faces and sharp object the protagonist on the left is holding, reveals the dominant nature of these characters. Low-Angle from ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)

Canted/Oblique angle from ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

Panoramic View from ‘The Maze Runner’ (2014)

The Canted/Oblique angle may be used for a variety of different reasons, but primarily provides a unique, yet often slightly obscure angle, providing a new perspective on something very ordinary and adding an artistic edge to the shot. They are often also used in disaster movies to reflect a sense of instability and destruction often occurring in the changes in the weather or, if used in a horror scene, created to change the mood of the scene in a fast, dramatic and powerful way. Oblique angles can also be incorporated with Point-Of-View shots such as a character falling to the ground and their eyesight and surroundings becoming blurry, unstable and unfocused. However, the use of a Canted angle in this frame from ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008) which is used to add a sense of distortion and chaos to the scene and to reinforce the Joker’s sinister stance.

A panoramic shot is used by taking a series of landscape shot that have been placed together in the editing phase, yet taken individually in the filming process. They are often used in film to establish a vast landscape and are incorporated with the pan technique to accentuate the expansive surroundings. This technique is used in ‘The Maze Runner’ to highlight their sense of entrapment on this side of the wall and add to a sense of mystery to the land beyond it. It acts as an overview of the scene providing either a sense of finality or used to begin a scene.