Types of Camera Shots/Movements

Above is a video which includes examples of the following:

• Establishing shot- a shot which establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects

• Long shot- a shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of the surroundings

• Full shot- a shot which includes the entire person or persons

• Mid shot- a shot in which the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist. There is space for hand gestures to be seen.

• Close up-  a shot which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject from a context.

• Extreme close up- a shot which involves very tight framing method that shows only a tiny part of the subject in great detail.

• Eye level shots- a shot which is taken at the height of normal vision.

• Low angle shots- a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline, looking up

• High angle shots- a shot which is usually when the camera is located above the eyeline

• Pan- a shot in which the camera swivels (in the same base position) to follow a moving subject. A space is left in front of the subject: the pan 'leads' rather than 'trails'

• Track- involves the camera itself being moved smoothly towards or away from the subject 

• Zoom- the camera does not move; the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. The subject is magnified, and attention is concentrated on details previously invisible as the shot tightens (contrast tracking). It may be used to surprise the viewer. Zooming out reveals more of the scene (perhaps where a character is, or to whom he or she is speaking) as the shot widens.

• Tilt- a vertical movement of the camera - up or down- while the camera mounting stays fixed.

• Point-of-View shot- a shot which is made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot.

• Over the shoulder shot- a shot of someone or something taken over the shoulder of another person. The back of the shoulder and head of this person is used to frame the image of what/whoever the camera is pointing toward.

• Two shot- a shot which makes the frame encompass a view of two people

• Straight cut-  a sudden change of shot from one viewpoint or location to another.

• Dissolve- the end of one clip gradually blends with the beginning of the next

• Fade-  a gradual fade from one shot to the next

• Wipe- one shot is progressively replaced by another shot in a geometric pattern.

• Reaction shot-  the participant reacts to action which has just occurred.

• Split screen- the division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer several images at the same time