Camera Shots

In order to write up a shot list for my teaser trailers there are different shots that I need to understand so I can choose carefully to make my film tense and keep the audience on their edges of there seats.
Shots 

ESTABLISHING SHOT

Usually an extreme long shot – found at the beginning of film sequence. They are used to orientate the audience and help them understand where the subsequent action is taking place. Establishing shots are usually of landscapes or buildings. Some scenes may leave out establishing shots perhaps in order to disorientate the audience

EXTREME LONG SHOT (ELS)

Characters are often barely visible in the frame – the setting/landscape certainly dominates. Often used to indicate man’s insignificance or isolation/vulnerability. These shots often found at the beginning of the film sequence (Establishing shots) to help orientate the audience. Not showed to use emotion.

LONG SHOTS (LS)

A characters head will appear near the top of the frame and there feet will appear towards the bottom of the frame. Characters and settings are equally important – the director may want the audience to relate the character to the setting. We begin to see facial expressions and figure behaviour become much more important.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT (MLS)

Characters are shot from the knees up (also known as a three quarter shot or an American shot). Characters begin to dominate – facial expressions are much clearer, figure behaviour is foregrounded

These closer shots are frequently used for important characters, central protagonist

MEDIUM SHOT (MS)

Characters are shot from waste up – figure behaviour and facial expressions now dominate. This shot and the next two shots are used to position the audience with characters  

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP (MCU)

Characters are shot from the chest up – setting is almost insignificant facial expressions are foregrounded

CLOSE-UP (CU)

Characters are shot from the neck up – a character face fills the frame. Used to position the audience with the character to emphasis emotion

EXTREME CLOSE-UP (ECU)

The shot will focus on a part of the face/body e.g. eye, ear, tongue or an object or prop. Extreme close-ups or close-ups of objects are used to suggest there importance to the audience – they may have narrative significance later on in the story

TWO SHOT

2 characters are in the frame. Think about the position of the character in relation to each other they may have a close relationship. Space between characters may imply there is a problem with them or dislike. Think about which character is in the foreground and which is in the background and what it implies

ARIEL SHOT/HELICOPTER SHOT

Characters or settings are shots from above – the camera is likely to be moving Ariel shot tend to be found in big budget Hollywood movies. They are used to add excitement in chase sequences, placing the audience in an unfamiliar position

POINT OF VIEW SHOT (POV)

The audience witness invents from the prospective or through the eyes of a character. Most films are objective (we watch characters interact with each other) with occasional moments of subjectivity. Point of view shots are used to help position the audience with a character (usually the central protagonist) point of view shots often framed by shots of the character from whose prospective seeing events

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT

Used frequently during conversations between characters – usually a shot-reverse-shot pattern is used                     

HIGH ANGLE SHOT

Characters, vehicles or props are shot from above – often used to suggest vulnerability or isolation etc.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW (EXTREME HIGH ANGLE)

Characters, vehicles or props are shot directly from above – alongside suggesting vulnerability the shot implies that a character’s fate is somehow being controlled by outside forces/. Frequently used in horror films.

LOW ANGLE SHOT

Characters, vehicles or props are shot from below. Making them look important, dominant, sinister, dangerous etc. often used for villains

CANTED FRAMING/DUTCH ANGLE

The frame appears to be lop sided or wonky as if the camera has been tipped to one side. Often used to reflect a characters state of mind (drunk, high, confused, disorientated) or imply danger or something unusual of something violent is about to accrue. Canted framing is unsettling for the audience

PAN

Camera movement left to right of vice versa. The camera is fixed and therefore a 360 degree pan will go full circle, circular pans imply either disorientation of a character being swept off their feet. Pan can be used to follow/slash track movement of characters or objects to show off a setting or to reflect a characters view. Slow pans create tension, anticipation and unsettle the audience like horror films. Fast pans create intensity that can disorientate the audience

WHIP/SWISH PAN

An extremely quick pan creating a blurred effect on screen. Often used to reflect a characters perspective (shock, panic, fear) or to disorientate the audience

TILT/VERTICLE PAN

The camera moves down to up or vice versa. Oft5en used to reveal the beauty or size of a character, building, landscape, sometimes the shot will affect a characters point of view   

TRACKING SHOT

Camera movement that follows a character or object horizontally or vertically diagonally, through the air. Often used to position the audience with a character or to create intensity during chase sequences. Tracking shots are achieved either by literally by laying tracks which the camera moves or by using a steadicam.

DOLLY SHOT (IN & OUT)

Cameras movements towards or away from a character of object BY MOVING THE CAMERA! – A similar effect is achieved by zooming – slow dollies create tension and anticipation. Quick dollies create shock, surprise, urgency and intensity. A dolly in focuses the audience’s attention. A dolly out is often to reveal something important in the background to the audience

CRANE SHOT

The camera is attaches to a crane – like mechanism allowing the director to film the actor from above and allowing for a degree or movement to track a character or object. Crain shots are not as flexible as helicopter shot

STEADICAM

A devise foe stablishi8ng moving handheld camera shots, creating smooth flowing shots providing directions with flexibility or mobility. Often used to reflect a characters confidence or to imply a character being swept of their feet.

Useful, also, for capturing intimate scenes, as a steadicam is able to allow closeness to the action that is often impossible traditional teaching shots

HAND-HELD

Often used to track characters or objects or to represent point of view shots, unlike steadicam shots, shots filmed with hand held cameras will appear shaky on screen – this may be used to unsettle or disorientate the audience or to reflect a characters panic or fear. Handheld shots create a sense of urgency and intensity and often used to add VERISIMILITUDE. We are used to three types of shots in documenting and view reports

ZOOM (IN & OUT)

Movement towards or away from a character or an object NOT by moving the camera buy by altering the lens. The effect is similar to a dolly. However there may be some noticeable differences with a zoom you may notice the sides of the frame appearing to come in towards the subject or go out away from the subject. The MAJOR difference is a noticeable change in the depth of field. ( the space between background/foreground will appear to depth or become more shallow) there may be a boring of the background or vice versa

CONTRA ZOOM

Simultaneously dolling in whilst zooming in out, or vice versa. The character or subject often remaining in roughly the same position, whilst the background perspective changes, contra zooms often disorientate the viewers and/or reflects a characters state of mind.

TIGHT FRAMING

There is a very little (if any) space around characters in the frame. (Also applies to objects). One reason tight framing is used is to create a sense of tension and anxiety. Claustrophobia alternately tight framing can create a sense of unity togetherness or intimacy.

LOOSE FRAMING

There is a lot of background space around a character or object – this makes a character look alone, vulnerable, small.

DEEP FOCUS

Everything from the foreground to the background is clearly in focus – the director wants the audience to take in everything in the frame. Elements in the background may have relevance to elements in the foreground. The audience is being asked to make a connection.

SHALLOW FOCUS

Only a portion of the scene is in focus. Either the foreground is in focus and the background is blurred vice versa. The audience attention is directed towards the area in focus – suggesting its significance/importance

RACK FOCUS/FOCUS PULLS

Moving from one type of shallow focus to another. This frequently happens in horror films thrillers and conversation sequences. The audience attention is directed towards which every part is in focus. Rack focus is often used to dramatically reveal something to the audience.