CAMERA TERMINOLOGY

BY SABRINA BOURHABA

EXTREME CLOSE-UP• EXTREME CLOSE-UP (ECU) IS A DETAILED SHOT

USED TO SHOW JUST THE EYES, MOUTH, FEET OR HANDS OF A CHARACTER. IT CAN ALSO INCLUDE ANIMALS AND INANIMATE OBJECTS. IT IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF EXPRESSING A CHARACTER’S EMOTIONS TO SUCCESSFULLY BUILD TENSION IN A SCENE.

• BY USING AN EXTREME CLOSE UP ON THE HANDS OR FEET CHARACTER FROM A POINT OF VIEW SHOT, THIS CAN EMULATE EMPATHY FROM THE AUDIENCE FOR THE CHARACTER

BIG CLOSE-UP• BIG CLOSE-UP (BCU) IS A FULL HEAD HEIGHT SHOT

TAKING UP THE ENTIRE SCREEN WITH LITTLE BACKGROUND TO SHOW THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF A CHARACTER.

• BIG CLOSE-UP SHOTS IS A VERY INTIMATE SHOT USED TO CONVEY THE EMOTIONS OF A CHARACTER AS ALL FACIAL FEATURES ARE PRESENT. LITTLE BACKGROUND PUTS THE FACE AS THE FOCAL POINT OF THE SCENE. IT CAN BE USED TO EITHER MAKE THE AUDIENCE FEEL COMFORT FROM THE CHARACTER OR DISCOMFORT, THUS BUILDING TENTION.

• WHEN MAGNIFYING AN OBJECT THIS SHOT IS USED TO CONVEYS IT’S IMPORTANCE/SIGNIFICANCE.

CLOSE-UP• A CLOSE-UP (CU) IS A CAMERA SHOT INCLUDING THE

HEAD AND SHOULDERS. WJILST IT CAN INCLUDE A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND THAN A BIG CLOSE-UP, IT IS STILL NOT A FOCAL POINT OF THE SHOT. USED TO FILM AN OBJECT AT CLOSE RANGE.

• CLOSE-UPS ARE USED TO FOCUS ON THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF THE CHARACTER BY EXAGGERATING THE FOCUS ON FACIAL EXPRESSION. THIS CAN SUCCESSFULLY HEIGHTEN TENSION IN A SCENE.

• THIS CAMERA SHOT CAN ALSO BE USED TO EMPAHTISE WITH THE CHARACTER MUCH LIKE ALLOWING SOMEONE PERSONAL THAT CLOSE TO OUR FACE.

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP• MEDIUM CLOSE-UP (MCU) SHOWS THE UPPER

HALF OF THE BODY AND IS TAKEN FROM HEAD TO CHEST.

• THIS SHOT IS NORMALLY USED TO SHOW DIALOGUE OR ACTION SCENES. EXAMPLES OF MEDIUM CLOSE-UP INCLUDE TWO SHOT AND THREE SHOT SCENES WITH SAID AMOUNT OF CHARACTERS.

• BACKGROUND IS OFTEN MORE IN FOCUS HOWEVER, SETTING FOR THE SCENE HAS ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP VARIATIONS

TWO SHOT THREE SHOT

MEDIUM SHOT• MEDIUM SHOTS (MS) DEPICT HALF

OF THE BODY IN THE SHOT,TAKEN FROM ABOVE THE HEAD TO JUST BELOW THE WAIST.

• THIS SHOWS ALLOWS FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTER'S EMOTIONS BY PARTNERING BODY LANGUAGE WITH FACIAL EXPRESSION.

• THIS CAN ALSO BE REFERRED TO AS A SOCIAL SHOT.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT• MEDIUM LONG SHOT (MLS) SHOWS

ALMOST THE WHOLE BODY OF THE CHARACTER AS WELL AS FOCUS UPON THE BACKGROUND AND THEIR SETTING.

• THIS SHOT IS USED TO PLACE A CHARACTER IN CONTEXT TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND RELATE THE TWO ASPECTS OF THE SHOT TOGETHER.

LONG SHOT• LONG SHOTS (LS) IS A DISTANCE

SHOT WHERE THE CAMERA IS FAIRLY FAR FROM THE SUBJECT.

• OFTEN USED AS AN ESTABLISHING SHOT SETTING SCENE FOR THE ACTION AND CHARACTER ROLES FOR THE VIEWER.

VERY LONG SHOT• VERY LONG SHOTS (VLS) DEPICT A

CHARACTER IN FULL SIZE AGAINST THEIR BACKGROUND/SETTING.

• VERY LONG SHOTS ARE USED TO PLACE A CHARACTER OR OBJECT IN A SETTING TO SHOW HOW THEY MIGHT/MIGHT NOT RELATE TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

EXTREME LONG SHOT• EXTREME LONG SHOT (ELS), MUCH LIKE THE

VERY LONG SHOT IS USED TO PLACE A CHARACTER INTO THEIR SURROUNDINGS, BUT IN THIS CASE A LARGER SETTING THAN THE CHARACTER.

• THIS SHOT IS USED TO SET THE SCENE FOR THE FILM WHERE THE ACTION WILL TAKE PLACE AND IS USED TO SET THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE FILM.

• IT MAY ALSO BE USED AN AS ESTABLISHING SHOT FOR THE OPENING OF A FILM.

WALKING ROOM• WALKING ROOM IS A CAMERA SHOT

WHICH DEPICTS A CHARACTER MOVING INTO SPACE.

• THIS CAN BE USED DURING A PURSUIT OF A SUBJECT TO BUILD TENSION WITHIN THE SCENE.

• WALKING ROOM SHOTS CORRELATE CLOSELY WITH TRACKING SHOTS SYNONYMOUS TO A DOLLY TO FOLLOW THE SUBJECT AS THEY MOVE IN THE SHOT.

HIGH ANGLE SHOT• HIGH ANGLE SHOTS (ALSO KNOWN AS

BIRD’S EYE) ARE A CAMERA SHOT LOOKING DOWN UPON A SUBJECT FROM A HIGH ANGLE.

• THIS CAMERA SHOT IS USED TO ISOLATE THE SUBJECT AND DEPICT THEM AS VULNERABLE OR POWERLESS.

• THE CRANE SHOT MAY SOMETIMES BE COMBINED WITH THIS SHOT FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SUBJECT.

LOW ANGLE SHOT• LOW ANGLE SHOTS (ALSO KNOWN AS WORM’S

EYE SHOTS) ARE A SHOT TAKEN FROM BELOW HEIGHT LEVEL LOOKING UP AT THE SUBJECT.

• THESE SHOTS CAN BE USED TO PLACE US IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SUBJECT NOT VISIBLE FOR A POINT OF VIEW SHOT.

• THIS SHOT CAN ALSO BE USED TO EMPOWER THE SUBJECTS SEEN ABOVE AND MAKE THE SUBJECT WE ARE LOOKING IN PERSPECTIVE FROM, WEAK.

TILTED FRAME• TILTED FRAME (ALSO KNOWN AS

CANTED OR DUTCH ANGLE SHOTS) ARE TILTED AT A DIAGONAL ANGLE.

• THIS CAMERA ANGLE IS USED TO CREATED A FEELING OF DISORIENTATION.

PAN• PAN CAMERA MOVEMENT IS ACHEIVED BY

PLACING A CAMERA ON TRIPOD WHICH OPERATES AS A NON MOVING POINT AXIS POINT OF THE CAMERA. THIS CAN THEN BE TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT.

• THIS MOVEMENT IS USED TO SCAN A SCENE HORIZONTALLY OR FOLLOW A SUBJECT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRAME.

• PAN CAN BE USED TO MIMICK THE MOVEMENT OF A PERSON SHAKING THEIR HEAD IN A POINT OF VIEW SHOT.

TILT• MUCH SIMILIAR TO THE PAN

CAMERA MOVEMENT. TILT IS USED TO FILM VERTICALLY E.G. TO FILM THE FULL SCALE OF A BUILDING OR PERSON.

• TILT CAN ALSO BE USED FROM A POINT OF VIEW SHOT TO MIMICK THE NODDING OF A PERSON'S HEAD.

HAND-HELD SHOTS• A HAND HELD SHOT IS A LARGE

CAMERA RESTED UPON A CAMERAMAN'S SHOULDER CREATED FOR MOVEMENTS IN AND OUT OF SCENES.

• HAND HELD SHOTS ARE OFTEN SHAKY SHOTS USED FOR POINT OF VIEW SHOTS IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. THIS CREATES MORE REALISM FOR FILMING.

TRACKING SHOTS • TRACKING SHOTS (TRUCKING OR DOLLY SHOTS)

ARE ACHIEVED BY PLACING A CAMERA ON A MOVING VEHIICLE TO FOLLOW ALONGSIDE ACTION SCENES (OFTEN A MOVING SUBJECT).

• MOVE COMPLEX FILMING SCENES MAY INVOLVE THE USE OF A CAMERA PLACED UPON A PLANE OR CAR.

• A TRACKING SHOT IS USED TO PORTAY MOVEMENT, JOURNEY OF A CHARACTER OR MOVING PROGRESSIVELY CLOSER TO A SUBJECT TO FOCUS IN.

CRANE SHOTS• CRANE SHOTS ARE TRACKING

SHOTS THAT TAKE PLACE ON A CRANE IN THE AIR WITH THE ABILITY TO TILT AND PAN.

• CRANE SHOTS ARE USED TO CAPTURE FOOTAGE OF HIGH VOLUME ACTION SCENES WITH A WIDE FRAME OF SUBJECTS.

ZOOM LENSES• ZOOM LENSES ARE USED TO FOCUS IN

CLOSER ON A SPECIFIC POINT OF THE FRAME WITHOUT HAVING TO MOVE THE CAMERA.

• IN ORDER TO ZOOM USING A DOLLY THE CAMERA MUST BE HELD VERY STEADY WAS WHEN FOCUSED EVEN SLIGHT TREMORS CAN BE VISIBLE.

• ZOOM IS USED BY DIRECTORS TO MAKE AN EERIE AND UNNERVING TENSION TO SCARY SCENES WHEN DONE SLOWLY AND STEADILY.

AERIAL SHOT• AERIAL SHOTS ARE FOOTAGE TAKEN

FROM A CAMERA FILMING FROM A HELICOPTER.

• THIS IS OFTEN USED AT THE BEGINNING OF FILMS TO ESTABLISH SETTING FOR THE FILM.

THE 180 DEGREE RULE• THE 180 DEGREE RULE WORKS UPON ON A LINE OF

ACTION (A THEORETICAL LINE JOINING TWO OR MORE SUBJECTS). THESE SUBJECTS ARE FILMED FROM A 1800 DEGREE ANGLE IN A SEMI CIRCLE SEEN LEFT.

• CROSSING LINE BY FILMING IN THE OTHER SEMI CIRCLE 180 DEGREE ANGLE CAN CAUSE DISORIENTATION OR CONFUSION FOR THE AUDIENCE.

• THE 180 DEGREE ANGLE RULE IS USED TO REGARD RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTERS WITHIN A SHARED SCENE.

MATCH ON ACTION • MATCH ON ACTION (ALSO KNOWN

AS CUTTING ON ACTION) REFERS TO A SHOT AS SEEN RIGHT IN WHICH THE SECOND SHOT REFLECTS THE ACTIONS SEEN IN THE FIRST SHOT.

• THIS IS AN EDITING TECHNIQUE USED FOR CONTINUITY EDITING CREATING A VICUAL MEDIUM FOR CONTINUITY AND TO RETAIN THE VIEWER'S ATTENTION THROUGHOUT.

SHOT REVERSE SHOT• ANOTHER CONTINUITY EDITING TECHNIQUE WHICH

IS USED TO FILM INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO SUBJECTS.

• THIS SHOT IS ACHEIEVE BY FILMING ONE SUBJECT FROM AN OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT AND THEN REVERSING THE SHOT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SECOND SUBJECT, BEFORE BEING CHANGED BACK TO THE FIRST SUBJECT.

• THIS SHOT RELATES CLOSELY TO THE 180 DEGREE RULE AS IT DOES NOT CROSS THE LINE AND PREVENTS CONFUSION AS CHARACTERS AND LOCATION ARE SEEN FROM THE SAME ANGLE.