Camera Shots

Media

Establishing shotAn establishing shot can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away. This shot generally gives the audience an idea of where something such as a film is set, eg the outside of a building or a landscape.

Wide shotA wide shot typically shows the whole object or human. It is a broader shot, to emphasise size, scale, the dramatic or epic.

Crane ShotA crane is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. A crane shot is useful to let the audience see all the different objects and people from only one point of view.

Aerial Shot / Birds eye view An exciting similarity of a crane shot, which usually taken from a plane and helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. This shot can go anywhere, move in and out of a scene, and express real drama and excitement.

Close upA close up shot, gives the audience a whole new view which is full of detail. It focuses on the main object or person and puts it into frame.

Extreme close upAn extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in the real world. An extreme close up informs the audience the different features someone would had for example in the picture it is focusing on the eye. The audience can be informed from this shot that the person has dark brown eyes, this is something the audience would not be able to see in any other shot.

Point of viewThis is a shot were we see what the actor sees through their own eyes. It makes the audience feel like they are in the characters body.

Low angle shotThis shot looks up at the action from below, – the observer is vulnerable, weak and lower in position.

High angle shot This shot looks down on the. It shows that the observer dominates, has power, and it in a higher position.

PansA movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed in a stationary axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is kept in the middle of the frame.

Tilts

A movement which scans a scene vertically, in this example it shows the audience the whole object or person from head to toe.

Over the shoulderThis is a shot where we see what the actor sees but not through their own eyes – This puts the viewer in the scene, but as an assistant to the action.

Shot reverse shotIs a shot where you alternate between one character to another. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer automatically assumes that they are looking at each other this is also known as the 180 degree rule.

Two ShotTwo Shots are good at giving the audience an opportunity to understand the relationship between two subjects.

Zoom/ reverse zoomThis is when the camera gets closer to or moves away from the action in a very quick movement. This can suggest surveillance, voyeurism and intense observation.