Camera angles and shots

1. CAMERA ANGLES AND SHOTS

2. THE AERIAL SHOT
• This is an exterior shot filmed the air. Often it is
used to establish a location.

3. THE ARC SHOT
• This is a shot in which the subject is circled by the
camera.This shot is often used by Michael Bay and
Brian De Palma.

4. THE BRIDGING SHOT
• This is a shot that demonstrates a shift in time or
place e.g. a line moving across an animated map.

5. THE CLOSE-UP SHOT
• This is a shot that keeps only the face of the subject in
frame.This is seen as the most important building block
for a cinematic storytelling.

6. THE MEDIUM SHOT
• This is a shot that utilises the most common
framing in movies, it shows less that a long shot but
more that a close-up.

7. THE LONG SHOT
• This is a shot that depicts an entire character or
object from a head to toe. It is not as long as an
establishing shot (wide shot).

8. THE COWBOY SHOT
• This is a shot that is framed from a mid thigh up, so
called due to its reoccurring used in Western movies.

9. THE DEEP FOCUS SHOT
• A shot that keeps the foreground, mid ground and the background all in sharp
focus. Often used by Orson Welles.This is disliked by many production designers
as they have to put detail in the whole of the set.

10. THE DOLLY ZOOM
• This is a shot that sees the camera track forward towards the subject while
simultaneously zooming out to create a woozy, vertiginous effect.This shot was
first used in Hitchcock’sVertigo (1959).

11. THE DUTCHTILT
• This is a shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create an interesting
angle. Often used to suggest disorientation. It is often used byTim Burton
and Sam Raimi.

12. THE ESTABLISHING SHOT
• This is a shot at the head of the scene, that clearly shows the location that the action
is set in. It often comes after the aerial shot.

13. THE HANDHELD SHOT
• This is a shot in which the camera operator hold
the camera during motion

14. THE LOW ANGLE SHOT
• This is a shot looking up at a character or subject often
making them look bigger in the frame. It can make
everyone look heroic or dominant.Also used to make
cities look empty

15. LOW ANGLE SHOT
• This is a shot looking down on the character or
subject often it isolates them in the frame.

16. THE MATTE SHOT
• This a shot that
incorporates foreground
action with the
background, traditional
painted onto glass, now it
can be created using a
computer.

17. OVERTHE SHOULDER SHOT
• This is a shot where the camera is positioned behind one
subject’s shoulder, usually during a conversation. It implies a
connection between the speaker as opposed to a single
shot that can suggest distance.

18. THE PAN SHOT
• This is a shot in which the camera moves continuously from
one side to the other. It is an abbreviation of panning.The shot
is often used i car chases.

19. THE POV SHOT
• This is a shot that depicts the point of view of a character
so that we can see exactly what they are seeing. It is
often used in horror movies to see through the killers
eyes.

20. THE SEQUENCE SHOT
• A long shot that cover an entire scene in one
continuous sweep without the use of editing.

21. THE STEADICAM SHOT
• This is a shot from a hydraulically balanced camera that
allows a smooth and fluid motion.This was invented in the
late 70’s by Garrett Brown.

22. THETILT SHOT
• This is a shot where the camera continuously moves from
up to down or down to up.This is a vertical equivalent to
the panning shot.Tilting to the sky is traditionally the last
shot of the movie.

23. THETOP SHOT
• This a shot looking directly down on a scene rather
that at an angle.This is also known as the Birds Eye
View shot.

24. THETRACKING SHOT
• This a shot that follows a subject be it from behind or
alongside the subject.This is seen as a more elegant
shot for a more civilised age.

25. THETWO SHOT
• This is a shot that depicts two people in the frame. It
is used primarily when you want to establish a link
between characters who are not facing each other.

26. THE WHIP PAN
• This is a shot that is the same as the pan shot but is so
fast that the picture blurs beyond recognition. Usually
companied by a whoosh sound.

27. THE ZOOM SHOT
• This is a shot deploying a lens with a variable focal
length that allows the cinematographer to change
the distance without the subject or the camera
moving physically.

28. THE CRANE SHOT
• This is a shot where the
camera is placed on a crane
and moved up or down.This
shot is often used in musicals.
Used to highlight a characters
loneliness or at the end of a
movie.