Camera Shots, Composition, framing and angles

 

Composition = where objects are placed and arranged in a shot

Framing = What you choose to include in you shot and what you choose to leave out. What you leave out may be important, a thriller may leave out certain things to create tension.

Long Shot (LS) = Subject takes up full frame (from top to bottom) this shot is used to show a character in their surroundings

Mid shot (MS) = useful to show a subject is speaking without too much emotion. It is more realistic, if you were talking to someone in real life you wouldn’t be looking at the bottom of them, so that part is cut off. Allows room for hand gestures and some movement

Medium Close up (MCU) = shows face more clearly without getting uncomfortably close.

Close up (CU) = useful for showing detail, draws the audience in and shows their emotional state.

Extreme Close Up (ECU) = shows extreme detail, you would need a reason to get this close (In very dramatic scenes)

Cut Away (CA) = a close up of a different part of the subject. (The subjects hands, or anything else)

Two Shot = Two subjects in a shot, Good to show a relationshop between the two.

Over the shoulder shot = The shot is filmed from behind someone’s shoulder looking at another subject, common to cut to between a conversation

Noddy Shot = common in interviews, it has a subject reacting to the something else.

Point of view shot = camera shot from the subjects perspective

Low angle shot = camera is looking up at the subject, gives the subject a sense of size power and authority

High Angle Shot = shot is taken from above the subject, Gives the subject a sense of helplessness and lack of power

Pan = Camera follows the subject

Tracking Shot = camera follows the subject on a dolly (mini train track) gives a sense of speed and moving with the action

Tilt = Camera pans up and down, gives the subject a sense of height and size

Canted/Ducth angle shot = camera position is not straight towards the subject, can give a sense of chaos

Zoom in / out = Camera zooms in or out, can highlight significant objects to the audience

Steadicam/Handheld = Camera moves around with the action, can make the audience feel part of the action

Crane Shot = Camera take a high angle style shot and gives a sense of size and scale

Ariel Shot = camera is in an plane or helicopter and uses a ELS, gives a sense of size and scale

 

Editing

Continuity Editing = maintains the spatial relationships in a film, calls the audience’s attention to specific objects / characters / events in the film. It allows the film to shift through time and gives the film rythem

Transitions = the ways in which two shots are joined together the most common is a straight cut, where one shot goes straight to the next

Dissolve = a gradual transition from one shot to another and can help continuity showing time passing

Fade to Black and White = can cause time passing or if done quickly, used to show flashbacks.

Digetic Sound = heard or recorded sound on the location of the film

Non-digetic sound = SFX