CAMERA TERMINOLOGY

(IMAGES AND LINKS TO IMAGES)

By Safiyah Bennington

Extreme Close up (ECU)

◦ Extreme Close-ups (ECU) lets you focus (most commonly) on specific body parts at a time. Eyes, feet, mouths, hands and ears are most commonly seen in this shot but is also on objects and animals.

◦ The un-natural closeness of the shot intensifies how the feeling and convinces the audience to feel empathy or some form of connection with the character on screen. It highlights the dramatic importance of the scene

Big Close Up (BCU)

◦ A big close up (BCU) consists of a

persons entire face filling the shot.

These shots are very intense. The BCU is

too close to show general reactions or

emotion which makes it even more

dramatic. It is used to show the detail

and facial expression of the character.

Close Up (CU)

◦ A close up shot (CU) consists of the

persons full face and the top of the

upper chest but is also used on an

object at close range and overall

contains no or very little background.

This shot is used to heighten tension in

the scene and can introduce a

character. It also means that the

character can show emotions clearly.

Medium close up (MCU)

◦ A medium close up (MCU) shows the

top of the head to the lower chest and

is commonly used in conversational

scenes between characters. There is

more in the background than in a

close up but the sharpness of the

background isn’t as strong.

Medium Shot (MS)

◦ The Medium Shot (MS) shows the upper

half of the body from the top of the

persons head to the waist. This shot is

used to show the body language and

facial expression that the character is

trying to convey to the audience.

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

◦ A medium long shot (MLS) shows the

top of the head to just below the knee

(roughly the knees.) This shot is used a

lot in moving shots because it allows

the audience to see the character but

is also close enough for the audience

to see the facial expression and where

the character is.

Long Shot (LS) and Very Long Shot (VLS) ◦ The Long Shot (LS) shows the full body of

the person but the is dominated most by the background. This shot is used so that the audience is able to understand the relationship between the person and the environment they are in.

A Very Long Shot (VLS) shows the full body of the person and but also has a space at the top and bottom of the screen. This shot is used to show the atmosphere of the

scene and tells the audience where the scene is set.

Long Shot

Very Long Shot

Two Shot (CU/MCU/MS)

◦ A Two Shot (CU/MCU/MS) is a shot of

two people. A two shot is good for

establishing the relationship between

the characters on screen. The two shot

is a way to naturally introduce two

people . A two shot can involve

movement and is a good way to focus

on the objects on the screen rather

than the background.

‘Over the shoulder’ shot

◦ An over the shoulder shot is framed

from behind the person who is looking

at the other subject. One third of the

frame is taken up by the person who is

facing the subject. This shot is most

commonly used in conversational

scenes

Walking Room

◦ A walking room also known as Lead

Space is a shot is where there is more

space on the side of the frame of the

direction that the subject is going in or

facing.

◦ The camera pans as the person walks

and keeps a constant amount of

space in front of the subject. It is used

in scenes of movement.

High Angle Shot and Low Angle Shot

◦ A high angle shot is where the frame is

shot from above the subject, generally

used to show the subject is inferior

◦ A low angle shot is where the frame is

shot from below the subject, generally

to show the subject is superior. High angle shot

Low angle shot

Deep Focus

◦ In this shot, the camera focuses on the

near and far objects (the whole frame)

at the same time.

◦ Deep Focus

Pans

◦ Pans are a movement which scans a

scene horizontally and pans left and right

and can be done by hand or camera.

When used on a tripod,the camera is put

onto a tripod which is used as a stationary

axis point that the camera can turn on. This

shot is most commonly used to keep a

steady shot of a moving object

This is called a panhead and is used to move

the camera on the release plate

◦ Pans

Tilts

◦ This movement is similar to a pan

movement but instead of moving left and

right horizontally, it scans the scene

vertically and the camera tilts up and down.

◦ It also stands on the tripod or can be done

handheld.

◦ Tilt movement

Hand-held shots

◦ A hand held shot is when the camera is

connected to a harness and is used in

a scene create a sense of realism.

◦ Hand Held shot

Tracking Shots

◦ A tracking shot, also known as Trucking or

Dolly shot is when a camera is placed on a

moving vehicle/dolly moves alongside the

action and usually follows a moving object.

This shot is good for gradual moving

forwards or backwards in a scene.

◦ Complicated tracking shots are the same

except the camera dolly is put on a track

that is on the floor.

◦ Tracking shot

◦ Complicated tracking shot

Crane Shots

◦ A crane shot is pretty much the same

as a tracking shot but in the air. This

shot is useful because it can be used in

the air and goes up, down, left, right

and can swoop in or out on action or

move diagonally.

◦ Crane shot

Aerial Shot

◦ An aerial shot is like a crane shot but

taken from a much higher scale,

generally filmed from a helicopter (like

a flexible crane.) This shot is most

commonly used at the beginning to

establish movement and setting.

◦ Aerial shot

Wide shot

Wide shots can emphasize the isolation

of a figure and can be used to show a

crowd or to establish a set or location

◦ Wide shot

Zoom/Reverse Zoom

◦ The Zoom/ reverse zoom is the

adjustment of the camera lens where

the operator of the camera can move

in or pull away from the subject

◦ Example

Rule of thirds

◦ Instead of placing a person object in

the middle of the screen, they are

placed on a side (left or right) where

lines cross on the imaginary grid

◦ Rule of thirds example

Shallow focus

◦ Shallow focus is when the objects

closer to the screen are sharp and

visible but everything in the

background is out of focus. This is used

to emphasize the importance of the

object closer to the screen.

◦ Shallow focus