Shot Types and Use

List of Shots
Master Shot/Establishing Shot (EST) Wide Shot (WS) Long Shot (LS) Mid Shot (MS) Medium Shot Close up (MCU) Close up (CU) Extreme Close up (ECU)

Extreme Wide Shot Establishing Shot

In the extreme wide shot, the view is so far from the subject that she isn't even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings. The EWS is often used as an "establishing shot" - the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. The EWS is also known as an extra long shot or extreme long show (acronym XLS).

Master Shot
A master shot (also called an establishing shot and sometimes also a long shot) is a filmic recording of an entire scene, start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. Usually, the "master shot" is the first shot checked off during the shooting of a scene--it is the foundation of what's called "coverage," the process through which all angles and shots will be covered that will be needed in the editing room. The master shot is ordinarily supplemented with other shots that reveal different aspects of the action - groupings of two or three of the actors at crucial moments, close-ups of individuals, insert shots of various props, and so on.

 The wide shot is much closer to the subject than an extreme wide shot, but still much further away than a wide shot. The subject is (just) visible here, but the emphasis is very much on placing her in her environment. This often works as an establishing shot, in which the audience is shown the whole setting so they can orient themselves. The WS also allows plenty of room for action to take place, or for multiple subjects to appear on screen.

Wide Shot (WS)

Long Shot (LS)

In the long shot, the subject takes up the full frame. In this case, the girl's feet are almost at the bottom of frame, and her head is almost at the top. Obviously the subject doesn't take up the whole width and height of the frame, since this is as close as we can get without losing any part of her. The small amount of room above and below the subject can be thought of as safety room you don't want to be cutting the top of the head off. It would also look uncomfortable if her feet and head were exactly at the top and bottom of frame.

Mid Shot (MS)

The mid shot shows some part of the subject in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject. As well as being a comfortable, emotionally neutral shot, the mid shot allows room for hand gestures and a bit of movement.

Medium Close Up (MCU)

The medium close up is half way between a mid shot and a close up. This shot shows the face more clearly, without getting uncomfortably close.

Close Up (CU)
In the close up shot, a certain feature or part of the subject takes up most of the frame. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face (unless specified otherwise). Close-ups are obviously useful for showing detail and can also be used as a cut-in. A close-up of a person emphasizes their emotional state.

Extreme Close Up (ECU)

The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail. You would normally need a specific reason to get this close. It is too close to show general reactions or emotion except in very dramatic scenes.

Two Shot
There are a few variations on this one, but the basic idea is to have a comfortable shot of two people. Often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show. Two-shots are good for establishing a relationship between subjects. If you see two sports presenters standing side by side facing the camera, you get the idea that these people are going to be the show's co-hosts. As they have equal prominence in the frame, the implication is that they will provide equal input. A two-shot could also involve movement or action. It is a good way to follow the interaction between two people without getting distracted by their surroundings.

POV (Point of View) Shot

Shows a view from the subject's perspective. This shot is usually edited in such a way that it is obvious whose POV it is (see the example below).

Over the Shoulder Shot

Looking from behind a person at the subject, cutting off the frame just behind the ear. The person facing the subject should occupy about 1/3 of the frame. This shot helps to establish the positions of each person, and get the feel of looking at one person from the other's point of view.

Assignment
On the K drive go to 12 media Studies Unit two folder television stills Here choose 10 images and create a power point presentation explaining some of the connotations within the images, also explain why they chose to use a certain shot type, why do you suppose it was shot this way? Why are certain elements included in the photo?

Rules of Framing

 Look for horizontal and vertical lines in the frame (e.g. the horizon, poles, etc). Make sure the horizontals are level, and the verticals are straight up and down (unless of course you're purposely going for a tilted effect).

The rule of thirds. This rule divides the frame into nine sections, as in the first frame below. Points (or lines) of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up (or across) the frame, rather than in the centre.

Head Room
"Headroom", "looking room", and "leading room". These terms refer to the amount of room in the frame which is strategically left empty. The shot of the baby crawling has some leading room for him to crawl into, and the shot of his mother has some looking room for her to look into. Without this empty space, the framing will look uncomfortable.Headroom is the amount of space between the top of the subject's head and the top of the frame. A common mistake in amateur video is to have far too much headroom, which doesn't look good and wastes frame space. In any "person shot" tighter than a MS, there should be very little headroom.

Depth of Field
DOF is essentially the distance at which the camera is focused. Used to create a focal point. Direct the viewers attention to what is important.

Shot Movement

Pan
Camera rotates from left to right at a locked point; usually on a tripod. Usually used to follow action, a character or to show part of a setting i.e. looking down both sides of a hallway.

Tilt
Camera rotates up and down at a locked point; usually on a tripod. Usually used to follow action, a character or to show part of a setting i.e. looking up a high rise building.

Dolly, Truck or Tracking

The whole camera moves its position. This can also be used to follow action or to follow a character through a setting.

Steadicam Handheld
A steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion-picture camera, which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. A steadicam essentially combines the stabilised steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While smoothly following the operator's broad movements, the steadicam's armature absorbs any jerks, bumps, and shakes.

Dolly Zoom
The effect is achieved by using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. In its classic form, the camera is pulled away from a subject whilst the lens zooms in, or viceversa. Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject.As the human visual system uses both size and perspective cues to judge the relative sizes of objects, seeing a perspective change without a size change is a highly unsettling effect, and the emotional impact of this effect is greater than the description above can suggest. The visual appearance for the viewer is that either the background suddenly grows in size and detail overwhelming the foreground; or the foreground becomes immense and dominates its previous setting, depending on which way the dolly zoom is executed.

Zoom/reverse zoom (zoom out)

A zoom is technically not a camera move as it does not require the camera itself to move at all. Zooming means altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action. The effect is not quite the same though. Zooming is effectively magnifying a part of the image, while moving the camera creates a difference in perspective background objects appear to change in relation to foreground objects. This is sometimes used for creative effect in the dolly zoom.