THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANY CAMERA LENSAnd your own eyesight is the field of view. Human eyesight takes in a much larger area than any lens can.

Directors of Photography are limited to make a choice of which type of lens setting and camera position to use. It turns out that this

limitation can be a powerful advantage when deciding how to frame each shot. Different shot selections evoke different emotions and

convey a different meaning to the viewer. A good understanding of shot vocabulary and shot functions is vital to creating an effective

story. The use of various shots provides the editor with a rich palette to work from in assembling the story.

Types of Camera Shots

A WIDE SHOT (also known as Establishing Shot or Long Shot) shows the whole scene. Frequently you'll see video pieces begin with a wide shot. Wide shots are also

often used at the start of a scene or sequence. It’s known as an ESTABLISHING SHOT if it used to tell the audience the setting for the action. WIDE ANGLE SHOTS

are framed with the lens ZOOMED OUT.

A MEDIUM SHOT This shows less of a scene than the wide shot. The camera seems closer to the subject (although it may not be if you use your zoom lens). A MEDIUM SHOT of a person shows them from about the waist up. MEDIUM SHOTS are used to transition between wide shots and close-up shots literally bringing the audience into the story.

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SHOT FRAMINGAdvanced Film Worksheet 5

The terms camera

angle and shot of-

ten are used inter-

changeably, and

sometimes they do

not mean the same

thing!

This shot could be

correctly termed a

LOW ANGLE or a WIDE

SHOT.

A CLOSE UP SHOT shows an even smaller part of the subject or scene. It's great for

showing detail, like a person's emotional face or information the audience should see. If you were interviewing someone, this shot would show the person from the top of the

chest or shoulders up.

An EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT is even closer than a Close Up. It is very close detail, such as a person’s eye, or

part of a flower.

An OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT is literally shot over the shoulder of one person looking towards another. A shot with more

than one person in it is also known as a TWO SHOT or THREE SHOT (depending on how many people ap-pear in the shot). In order to fit more than one person into this type of shot, it usu-ally needs to be a MEDIUM

or WIDE SHOT. If the camera angle is reversed to show the OVER THE SHOULDER view of the second person, the se-quence of shots are called a SHOT REVERSE SHOT.

A LOW ANGLE SHOT is framed by setting the camera low looking up at the subject and usually exaggerates a character or place making them look imposing or menacing.

Adolph Hitler is framed

in a LOW ANGLE SHOT in

L. Refienstahl’s

“Triumph of the Will”

(source: Wikipedia.com)

John, B-Wass, and Tyler

framed in a THREE SHOT.

The Bates Hotel, in Hitchcock’s “Psy-

cho” is framed at a low angle to give

the viewer a sense of dread.

(source:www. best-horror-movies.com)

A HIGH ANGLE SHOT also exaggerates the subject and gives them a sense of being dimin-ished by other people or their environment.

A DUTCH ANGLE SHOT is used to convey a sense of the strange or different. The camera is tilted at an angle between 30 and 45 degrees. Sometimes DUTCH ANGLE SHOTS are intercut as REVERSE

ANGLES of each other in order to increase tension.

storyboard images from “A Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Tim Burton.

source: http://www.animationcelection.com/images/1022379.jpg)

ADVANCED FILM MAIN