Film Theory Basics: Types of Camera Shots

films are constructed with a few types of camera shots each of which has its own purpose and effect on the story the different shot types can be used in combination to crop the narrative and to shape the experience of the audience there are many variations of shots but being familiar with the following will set you up for most shooting situations white shots also referred to as long shots have the largest field of view there are few uses of white shots such as to show a large area establish a setting or to capture subjects from a distance wide shots of subjects typically frame most or all of their body establishing shots which are typically the first shot of a new scene should a location and approximate time of the setting for example establishing shots may be the outside of a building or the general landscape that's relevant to the scene the amount of light is a good indicator of time establishing shots are typically done with a wide is this why our once great nation is going down the crapper medium shots are tighter and have a narrower field of view than a wide mediums are typically used to shoot subjects and frame them from the waist up this framing is meant to simulate the approximate range of a person's body that's focused on in real life conversations although they show less overall information than wides mediums show more detail by making things larger in the frame mediums are one of the most commonly used types of camera shots Oh close-up shots tightly frame a subject or object common close-ups show a subjects face a detail or an important prop the size of the subject in a close-up which fills most or all of the frame emphasizes its importance close-ups are a go-to for showing emotion because they can clearly capture facial expressions point of view shots or POVs show the view from a subjects perspective POV shots allow the audience to see through the eyes of a subject which can create the illusion that they are the subject with this subjective perspective the audience can't see anything happening outside of that view this restriction makes it seem more personal and can also create tension and mystery POV shots can also show the view of inanimate objects both subject and object POVs can make the audience feel a bit powerless and remind them that they are witnesses instead of participants they can also offer a different angle of the subjects that's a very nice rendering day I think you've improved a great deal low angles are shots in which the camera is positioned below eye level and angled upwards towards a subject these shots can make a subject look bigger which makes them look more powerful low angles can be used to make a subject look more heroic or menacing I [Music] was separated from my family for so long high angle shots are from above eye level and angled downwards towards a subject this type of shot can make a subject appear smaller in the frame which makes them seamless powerful high angles can be used to make subjects look weak or vulnerable low and high angle shots can also indicate perspective for point of view shots frankly my dear I don't give a damn similar to a POV over the shoulder shots are used to show what the subject is looking at over the shoulder shots are positioned slightly above and behind the subjects shoulder and show part of the shoulder and head in the frame these shots are commonly used to capture conversation in which the second subject is typically framed in a medium or a close-up I need to see their heads or tails and you have to say shot reverse shots is a shooting technique for conversations that uses separate shots for the subjects in the first shot subject a is shown on one side of the frame facing and speaking toward the opposite side the second shot shows subject B on the opposite side of the frame is subject a facing and speaking back toward them this gives the impression that the subjects are looking at each other even though they're not actually on screen at the same time well a boy's best friend is his mother an important rule when shooting a scene with more than one subject is a 180 degree rule the 180 degree rule states that the subject should maintain the same left or right position relationship between shots this means that one subject needs to be positioned on one side of the frame and the other subject on the opposite imagine a line between the subjects connecting them passing the line and shooting from the other side would switch the positions of the subjects and cause confusion because the subjects would suddenly be on the side of the frame that belongs to the other subject the passing of this line is called a reverse angle in most situations you want to avoid reverse angles to minimize confusion for the audience but it can be done on purpose to create a subtle disconnect or a jarring effect movies are projects that only is a couple types of shots can be less engaging for the audience so experiment with ways to make it more interesting use the various shot types to string together your scenes and as always remember to be intentional

Channel: PLU Instructional Technologies

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Keywords: filmmaking, camera shots, shot types, angles, low angle, high angle, wide, medium, close up, establishing, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder, reverse angle

Id: S0xqwo5JKpo

Length: 5min 59sec (359 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 27 2019