Multimedia/Video Lecture
1—Camera Angles and Motion
Source: http://www.mediaknowall.com/camangles.html
Describing Shots--Considerations
• Framing or length of shot
• Angle of the shot
• Movement involved in the shot
A change between two different
shots is called a CUT.
Framing or Shot Length
• Extreme long shot (ELS/EWS)
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Scene setting
Establishing shot
Usually exterior
Little detail
• Variation is LS/WS
(not as far)
Framing or Shot Length
• Long Shot (LS)
▫ Shows the image as “life” size
▫ Full shot showing entire human body
▫ Focus is on characters, but still see background
Framing or Shot Length
• Medium Shot (MS)
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Full shot showing subject from waist up (max 3)
Dialog or detailed action
Minimal background
2 shot (2 people) or 3 shot (3 people)
OVER-THE-SHOULDER-SHOT,
positions the camera behind one
figure, revealing the other figure,
and part of the first figure's back,
head and shoulder.
Framing or Shot Length
• Close Up (CU)
▫ Very little background
▫ Concentrates on either a face or a specific detail
▫ Takes us into the mind of a character
Framing or Shot Length
• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
▫ Magnify beyond what the human eye would
experience
▫ Used for dramatic effect
▫ Caution: Camera shake
Point of View Shot (POV)
• View from subject’s perspective (eyes)
Cutaway Shot (CA)
• Shot that's usually of something other than the
current action
• Used for:
▫ as a "buffer" between shots
▫ to add interest/information
Noddy Shot
• Used for interviews typically
• Shot of person listening to/reacting to subject
when shooting with one camera
• Typically, you can shoot the whole thing and
then film noddy shots later (and edit them in)
Camera Angles
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Birdseye View
High Angle
Eye Level
Low Angle
Oblique/Canted Angle
Birdseye View
• Directly overhead
• Very unnatural and strange angle
High Angle
• Camera is looking down
• Subject appears small
• Angle creates the impression of weakness in
subject
Eye Level
• Most common
• Camera will be placed approximately five to six
feet from the ground
• Neutral shot
Low Angle
• Camera is looking up
• Subject looks large
• Angle creates the impression of power in subject
Canted Angle
• Characters point of view
• Camera is tilted and off balance
• Show confusion, disorientation and
instability
Camera Movement
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Pan
Tilt
Dolly Shot
Handheld
Crane
Zoom
Aerial
Camera Movement--Pan
• Scans a scene horizontally
• Follow a moving object, which is kept in the
middle of the frame
• Tripod!!
Camera Movement--Tilt
• Scans a scene vertically
• Follow a moving object, which is kept in the
middle of the frame
• Tripod!!
Camera Movement—Dolly Shot
• Also known as TRUCKING or TRACKING shots
• Camera is placed on a moving vehicle and
moves alongside the action
• Camera could even be mounted on a car, a
In moving a camera from side
plane, rolling chair, etc.
to side you "truck right" or
"truck left."
Dolly in
(opposite
is Dolly
out)
Camera movement—Handheld
• First saw widespread use during World War II
• Taken with a handheld camera or deliberately
made to appear unstable, shaky or wobbly
• Often used to create a "realism" or "raw" look as
if it's documentary footage, news reporting, etc.
Used in Blair Witch Project
and Cloverfield for effect
Camera movement—Handheld
• TIPS
▫ Flex knees to act as shock absorbers
▫ Lean against solid object or another person
▫ Keep camcorder off shoulder to minimize bounce
when walking.
Camera Movement—Crane
• Basically, dolly-shots-in-the-air
• A crane—called a JIB—is used
Camera Movement—Zoom Shot
• Zoom lens can change the position of the
audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or
slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus
saving a lot of time and trouble
• Zoom lens tends to be jerky
• Use rarely and with caution
• May be good for deliberate dizzy/vertigo effect
• Dolly zoom (wheeled chair, skateboard)
• Always use a tripod!
Camera Movement—Aerial
• Even further from the action than the crane
shot, in a helicopter or atop a mountain or
skyscraper
• Moves with the subject
General Notes
• When shooting people,
don’t frame a shot so
the top of the neck, the
top of the legs, the
knees or the ankles are
cut off at the bottom of
the screen; allow these
body parts to be a little
above or below the
edge of the screen for
best composition.
Shot List—Be sure to have one!