This document defines and describes different camera shot types used in filmmaking, including:
- Extremely wide shots and very wide shots which show more of the surroundings and less of the subject. These are often used as establishing shots.
- Wide shots show the subject and some surroundings, allowing visibility of the subject's feet, head, and body language.
- Medium close ups show the subject's upper body and face clearly.
- Close ups focus on a subject's face or feature in great detail.
- Extreme close ups zoom in further to show facial expressions and reactions like the eyes.
- Over the shoulder shots look over a subject or object, covering 1/3 of the frame
2. Extremely Wide Shot (EWS)
An extremely wide shot shows more of a
characters personal surroundings and less of
their figure. This is shot is an establishing shot
which is mostly used in the first scene of many
movies to show the scene being set.
This shot is also very good for showing he scale
of action, as it creates a lot tension within the
scene.
3. Very Wide Shot (VWS)
A very wide shot brings the subject more closer
to the frame but still shows some
surroundings, in this shot we can see the
subject and his actions and body language, also
by the environment. This could also be used as
an establishing shot which shows the audience
the setting of the scene.
4. Wide Shot (WS)
In a wide shot we get closer to the subject and less
of his surroundings, the subjects feet are visible
clearly and so is his head leaving plenty of space as
he fits the frame perfectly. This shot could be
represented in many ways as it gives a clear view of
the subject and his body language and the little
surrounding around him
5. Medium Close Up Shot (MS)
In a medium close up shot we could see a very
clear image of the subject as the frame is half
way between a medium shot and a close up shot.
This shot shows the subjects face and upper body
clearly with the additional surroundings including
the space given above the subjects head to make
the surroundings visible
6. Close Up Shot (CU)
In a close up shot a feature or a subject takes
most of the space within the frame, this shows
great detail of the subject as we could easily get
into great detail (the subjects eyes and facial
parts). This shot is also used to determine
someone's emotional expressions as the viewer
could easily be drawn into by this. The shot
mainly focuses on the subject and less of the
surrounding as the frame focuses on his whole
face.
7. Extreme Close Up (ECU)
This shot gets into great detail of the subject
and more zoomed and focused into, this shot is
used for showing facial expressions and
reactions, as the main focus is the subjects eyes
and we could see how the reaction of the eyes
shows a reaction.. Tears coming in a subject
eyes shows sadness.
8. Over The Shoulder Shot (OSS)
An over the shoulder shot is used when looking
over a subject or an object within a frame, the
person who looks over the subject should cover
at least 1/3’s of the frame. The shot shows a
clear facial reaction of the subject as this puts
yourself in the position of the person looking
straight at the subject. Most over the shoulder
shots are varied as they come in from behind a
persons ear or their back. This shot could be
used to show conflict between two teams as
both people are looking at each other.
9. Point Of View Shot (POV)
The point of view shot shows a persons
perspective of something, in this shot we can
imagine ourselves as if we are the person
pointing towards the field, as this creates good
tension within the scene as the subjects hand
comes nicely into the frame where their finger is
around the middle leaving the surrounding to
make the scene visible. This shot would be used
when people are trying to share their something
from their point of view such as ‘pressing keys’ on
a keyboard.
10. Noddy Shot
This shot is very commonly used in news
channels across the globe, as news casters
would be interviewed in this shot as the camera
is facing directly to the subject leaving some
visible space to show some of the surroundings
and also the camera coming down just below the
subject’s shoulders.