Types of Camera Shots

Ollie Plunkett

Extreme Long Shot (Panoramic)

- An ‘extreme long shot’ is a view from an even greater distance- Can be used as an establishing shot to tell the audience where the next

scene is set

Long Shot

- Typically shows an entire object/human figure in correlation to its surroundings

- Useful for showing movement and establishing surroundings (action)

Mid-shot

- Shot taken from medium distance

Close Up

- Shot taken at a close range- Shows the target on a larger scale

Extreme Close-Up

- An extreme close up is a tight shot showing detail of a key feature (i.e. a characters eyes)- The shot is so tight that only a detail of the subject

Low-Angle Shot

- Makes the characters look bigger- Shows them as powerful and important

High-Angle Shot

- A ‘high-angle shot’ is a cinematic technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a ‘high angle’

- ‘High-angle’ shots can make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless

Two Shot

- A shot of two people together

Point of View Shot (POV)

- A ‘point of view shot’ (also known as ‘POV shot’) is a short film scene that shows what a character (the subject) is looking at (represented through the camera).

- Puts the audience in the eyes of the character

Over the Shoulder Shot

- An ‘over the shoulder shot’ is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the ‘shoulder’ of another person.

Birds-eye View

- A shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead

Worm shot

- A worm's-eye view is a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm (Opposite to a bird’s eye)