Camera SAM

All sequences in Film and TV are composed of different shots and different shot types. The different shots have various uses and effects.

Establishing shot

An Establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place.

Extreme long shot

An extreme long shot is a wider frame value in which the subjects in the frame are small. In comparison to an Establishing shot it contains fewer information , and shows an action in a mass scale.

Extreme long shots are also used to convey a characters emotion, e.g. loneliness.

Long shot

(full shot or wide shot)

A long shot typically shows the entire object or human figure, feet upwards. The shot provides the audience with a lot of information.

Mid long shot

A mid long shot shows the character knee upwards and is often used in conversations. If two people are featured in the frame it is called a two shot.

Mid shot

The mid shot shows some part of the object in more detail, with human figures are usually captured belly waist upwards in the frame. The Mid shot is appropriate when the character is speaking with not too much information.

Close up

A close up tightly frames a person, shoulders upwards, or an object to provide maximum information to the audience. However, close ups do not include the broader scene.

Extreme Close up

"An Extreme close-up shows us objects and people differently than we see them. It calls attention to the subjects, making them more memorable visually."-Jennifer van Sijll, Cinematic Storytelling

The extreme close-up usually shows a tiny fame of the subject. For example eyes, mouths, hands or objects like weals and rings are often pictured in extreme close ups.

The extreme close allows the viewer to enter the characters intimate space.

High-Angle shot

In a high-angle shot the camera looks down on the subject. High-angle shots can make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless.

Low-angle shot

A low-angle is shot a shot taken with the camera placed people and pointing up at the subject. This angle can make the character seem powerful or intimidating to the audience.

Over the shoulder shot

The OTS is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person. The shot is often used in sequences of conversations.

Canted Angle (dutch angle)

The canted angle is a shot where the camera is off center, which is often used to evoke an uneasy feeling in the audience.

Point of view shot

(POV shot or subjective camera)

The Point of view shot is a short film scene that shows what the subject is looking at.

Camera movement

There are different aspects of camera movement, the actual physical movement (track or hand held) and the camera movement ( Pan, zoom and tilt).

Pan

 moving the camera lens to one side or another.

Zoom

 Zooming is one camera move that most people are probably familiar with. It involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear closer or further away in the frame.

Tilt

moving the cameras lens up or down while keeping its horizontal axis constant. 

Track

Tracking is when the camera moves either left or right or front and back, while keeping the subject centered. This is not to be confused with a pan, where the camera remains firmly on its axis while the lens turns to one direction or another.

Hand held

Sometimes action is moving  too quickly or too unpredictably for the camera to be on a tripod. This calls for making the camera more mobile to follow the action of a scene.

(Often used in combination with a stabilizer)