Camera Shots & Angles

Concept

When describing camera angles, or creating them yourself, you have to think about important factors The FRAMING of the shot, LENGTH of shot, the ANGLE of the shot or if there in any MOVEMENT involved.When describing different cinematic shots, different terms are used to indicate the amount of subject matter contained within a frame, how far away the camera is from the subject, and the perspective of the viewer. Each different shot has a different purpose and effect.

Camera Shots

• Long Shot• Extreme Long Shot/ Vista Shot• Wide Shot• Full Shot• Medium Shot• Aerial Shot/ Bird-eye View Shot• Cowboy Shot• Over The Shoulder Shot• Close up• Macro Shots

• High Angle• Eye Level• Low Angle/ Worm Eye Angle• Oblique/ Tilted Angle

Camera Angles

CAMERA SHOTS

A long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the

entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its

surroundings. While the focus is still on the characters, a lot of background detail still emerges.

Long Shot

Extreme Long ShotExtreme long shot can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a scene setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an EXTERIOR, e.g. the outsid of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action e.g. in a war film or disaster movie. There will be very little detail visible in the shot, it's meant to give a general impression rather than specific information.

Medium ShotMedium Shots contains a figure from the knees/waist up. Background detail is minimal,probably because location has been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know where they are. Medium shots help place a subject in context--and they are also necessary for people who gesture a lot.

Aerial ShotAerial shots are usually done with a crane or with

a camera attached to a special Helicopter to view large landscapes. This sort of

shot would be restricted to exterior locations. A good area to do this shot would be

a scene that takes place on a building.

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Over The Shoulder Shot

This shot is framed from behind a person who is looking at the subject. The person facing

the subject should usually occupy about 1/3 of the frame. This shot helps to establish the

position of each person, and get the feel of looking at one person from the other's point of

view.

Close Up

This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of

mise en scène. Everything else is just a blur in the background. This shot magnifies the

object and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression

on someone's face.

CAMERA ANGLES

High Angle

While taking a shot from the high angle the camera is elevated above the action using a crane

to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less

significant . The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting they become

part of a wider picture.

Eye LevelEye level angle takes a fairly neutral shot; the

camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that e.g. actors'

heads are on a level with the focus. Thecamera will be placed approximately five to six feet

from the ground, up to the eye level ofthe object.

These increase height and give a sense of speeded motion.

The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky

or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the

disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may

make it inspire fearand insecurity in the viewer, who is

psychologically dominated by the figure on the

screen.

Low Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted, to suggest imbalance, transition and instability. This

technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots (i.e. when the camera becomes the 'eyes’ of

one particular character, seeing what they see. A hand held camera is often used for taking

an oblique angle shot.

Oblique Angle