camra angels

LONG SHOT
In photography, film and video, a long shot (sometimes referred to as
a full shot or a wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human
figure and is usually intended
to place it in some relation to its surroundings. It has been
suggested that long-shot ranges usually correspond to approximately
what would be the distance between the front row of the audience and
the stage in live theatre. It is now common to refer to a long shot as
a "wide shot" because it often requires the use of a wide-angle lens.
When a long shot is used to set up a location and its participants in
film and video, it is called an establishing shot.
A related notion is that of an extreme long shot. This can be taken
from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a
scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an exterior, eg
the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show
scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie. There
will be very little detail visible in the shot, as it is meant to give
a general impression rather than specific information.



MEDIUM SHOT
In film, a medium shot is a camera shot from a medium distance. The
dividing line between "long shot" and "medium shot" is fuzzy, as is
the line between "medium shot" and "close-up". In some standard texts
and professional references, a full-length view of a human subject is
called a medium shot; in this terminology, a shot of the person from
the knees up or the waist up is a close-up shot. In other texts, these
partial views are called medium shots. (For example, in Europe a
medium shot is framed from the waist up). It is mainly used for a
scene when you can see what kind of expressions they are using.
There is no evident reason for this variation. It is not a distinction
caused by, for example, a difference between TV and film language or
1930s and 1980s language.
Medium shots are relatively good in showing facial expressions but
work well to show body language.
Depending where the characters are placed in the shot, a medium shot
is used to represent importance and power



CLOSE UP SHOT
In film, television, still photography and the comic strip medium a
close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of
the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots.
Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader
scene. Moving in to a close-up or away from a close-up is a common
type of zooming.
Close-ups are used in many ways, for many reasons. Close-ups are often
used as cutaways from a more distant shot to show detail, such as
characters' emotions, or some intricate activity with their hands.
Close cuts to characters' faces are used far more often in television
than in movies; they are especially common in soap operas. For a
director to deliberately avoid close-ups may create in the audience an
emotional distance from the subject matter.
Close-ups are used for distinguishing main characters. Major
characters are often given a close-up when they are introduced as a
way of indicating their importance. Leading characters will have
multiple close-ups. There is a long-standing stereotype of insecure
actors desiring a close-up at every opportunity and counting the
number of close-ups they received. An example of this stereotype
occurs when the character Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, announces
"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" as she is taken
into police custody in the film's finale.
Close-up shots do not show the subject in the broad context of its
surroundings. If overused, close-ups may leave viewers uncertain as to
what they are seeing. Close-ups are rarely done with wide angle
lenses, because perspective causes objects in the center of the
picture to be unnaturally enlarged. Certain times, different directors
will use wide angle lenses, because they can convey the message of
confusion, and bring life to certain characters.

TYPES OF CLOSE UP SHOTS
There are various degrees of close-up depending on how tight (zoomed
in) the shot is. The terminology varies between countries and even
different companies, but in general these are:
Medium Close Up ("MCU" on camera scripts): Half-way between a mid shot
and a close-up. Usually covers the subject's head and shoulders.
Close Up ("CU"): A certain feature, such as someone's head, takes up
the whole frame.
Extreme Close Up ("ECU" or "XCU"): The shot is so tight that only a
fraction of the focus of attention, such as someone's eyes, can be
seen.
Lean-In: when the juxtaposition of shots in a sequence, usually in a
scene of dialogue, starts with medium or long shots, for example, and
ends with close-ups.
Lean-Out: the opposite as a lean-in, moving from close-ups out to longer shots.
Lean: when a lean-in is followed by a lean-out.
When the close-up is used in shooting, the focused on should not be
put in the exactly middle of the frame. Instead, it should be located
in the frame according to the law of golden section.

TWO SHOT
A Two shot is a type of shot employed in the film industry in which
the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects). The
subjects do not have to be next to each other, and there are many
common two-shots which have one subject in the foreground and the
other subject in the background.
The shots are also used to show the emotional reactions between the
subjects. For instance, in the movie Stand By Me, this shot is used
multiple times to show these emotions.
An 'American two shot' shows the two heads facing each other in
profile to the camera.
Similarly, a three shot has three people in the composition of the
frame. In these shots the characters are given more importance; this
type of image can also be seen in print advertising.
Four shot scenes are relatively uncommon, but when seen regularly
comprise four persons within frame.
Five shot scenes, whilst more common, rarely have 5 people in them and
typically have either 6 or 3.5 (the extra 0.5 allowing for a balance
of dramatic irony and mise-en-scene)

HIGH ANGLE SHOT
In film, a high angle shot is usually when the camera is located above
the eyeline.
With this type of angle, the camera looks down on the subject and the
point of focus often get "swallowed up" by the setting.
High angle shots also make the figure or object seem vulnerable or powerless.
High angle shots are usually used in film to make the moment more
dramatic or if there is someone at a high level that the character
below is talking to


BIRD EYE SHOT
In film, a Bird's eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on
the subject. The perspective is very foreshortened, making the subject
appear short and squat. This shot can be used to give an overall
establishing shot of a scene, or to emphasise the smallness or
insignificance of the subjects. These shots are normally used for
battle scenes or establishing where the character is. It is shot by
lifting the camera up by hands or by hanging it off something strong
enough to support it. For a scene that needs a large area shot, then
it will most often likely to be lifted up by a crane or some other
sort of machine.


LOW ANGLE SHOT
in cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera
positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline,
looking up.

DUTCH ANGLE
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, or
Batman Angle are terms used for a cinematic tactic often used to
portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being
filmed. A Dutch angle is achieved by tilting the camera off to the
side so that the shot is composed with the horizon at an angle to the
bottom of the frame. Many Dutch angles are static shots at an obscure
angle, but in a moving Dutch angle shot the camera can pivot, pan or
track along the director/cinematographer's established diagonal axis
for the shot.