Camera angles within film.

1. Camera Angles
Name: Holly Morsley

2. Challenge
You are to independently research the following
camera angles and movements and create a
visual representation, as well as a description of
how the technique is used within the film
industry.

3. Camera Angle: Close Up
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Close up shots are used in film to draw the viewers attention to an important aspect of the film, for example a face or
an object. As it is not an extreme close up, it is not always used to focus on a specific part of the scene. It is used in
scenes where there is high intensity and high emotion, as it allows for the emotions to be focused on.

4. Camera Angle: Establishing Shot
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Establishing shots are used within film to show the overall location of the scene by using extreme wide shots.
The wide shot will normally pan horizontally or vertically to allow the general location to be revealed to the
audience, for example it might pan across a country landscape and then follow with a shot of a farm house.
This is quite common in the film industry with a famous example being the opening shot in “A New Hope”,
starting off with a view of a planet from space. This showed the audience that the films location was space.

5. Camera Angle: Extreme wide shot
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Extreme wide shots are commonly used as establishing shots of films. They allow for an entire location to be
shown in a single shot, thus setting the scene. It also allows for scenes to show a lot of action without the need of
multiple shots.

6. Camera Angle: Wide shot
How am I used in a film?
Wide shots allows for the subject of the shot to be fully visible for the viewer without the need for a close up. The
subject, be it a character or a prop, is not taking up the entire frame, however they are shown to be the main focus of
the shot. This is commonly used to show off an entire character without panning.

7. Camera Angle: Mid shot
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
A mid shot is defined as a shot containing the top half of a character (including the torso and the head). This shot
is used to show how a person would speak to another as though the camera were a person. In scenes where
there is a casual conversation. This shot, although focusing on the character more than a wide shot would, has
too much background that could distract from the emotion.

8. Camera Angle: Medium close up
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
A medium close up is halfway between a mid shot and a close up, framing the shoulders and head of a character into
frame comfortably. It allows the face of a character to be clearly seen, without getting unnecessarily close to the face.
This shot is often used for dramatic effect as the emotions of the character are seen clearly when using this shot.

9. Camera Angle: Extreme close up
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
An extreme close up is a shot that shows a very specific aspect of a scene in extreme detail. This is usually
to highlight something that is important to the scene, although it is too close to show emotions or
reactions.

10. Camera Angle: Cutaway
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Cutaway shots focuses on an aspect of the scene that is not the main focus of the scene. This could be a different
object, character or aspect of the location. This is often used to establish the setting and create interest in the scene.

11. Camera Angle: Two-shot
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Two-shot refers to having two people in the same frame at the same time. Likewise, a three shot would
contain three people in the shot. This shot is often used to established the relationship between the
two characters by using their positioning. For example, if two characters are within a close proximity to
each other while facing each other, these two are shown to have a close relationship. If they were a
comfortable distance away, looking at a camera, this could indicate that their relationship is more
professional. This shot is good for showing movement of two characters without distraction.

12. Camera Angle: Over the shoulder
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
This angle is used to show a characters perspective in a third person way. The camera is
positioned so that the eye-line of the character is shown while still keeping the character in
roughly 1/3 of the frame. During conversation, this would be used to show the emotion of the
second person in the conversation.

13. Camera Angle: Point of view (POV)
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Point of view is used in film to create a first person perspective for the viewer. The camera
is positioned and moved as if it were the characters eyes with non of the character being
shown (with the exception of a hand or foot). This allows an audience to see the situation
from the character’s perspective, allowing them to empathise with the character’s
emotions.

14. Camera Movement: Tracking
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
Tracking shots are used within film when a character or object is moving. The camera “follows” the character or
object., by moving parallel to the action. This is normally shot on a cart to allow the camera to follow the action
without the need to stop. This shot is commonly used in high pace action scenes, as well as chase scenes, to
allow for the extent of the action to be shown.

15. Camera Movement: Tilt
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
A tilt shot is the movement of camera that allows the camera to point up or down
from a fixed point. These shots are lot less common than a pan shot, however this can
be used in a situation when the size of an object needs to be emphasised, such as the
tallness of a building or monster. It can also be used to give the effect of something
being overbearing, like a serial killer standing over his victim.

16. Camera Movement: Zoom
Image example:
How am I used in a film?
This shot uses the focus of the camera lense to give the effect of something being further away or
closer. This does not require moving the camera, however not doing so just magnifies the shot
rather than actually getting nearer to the actual object. This shot is often used to focus on one
aspect of the scene and to draw the viewer’s attention to it.

17. Rules of Framing
When framing a shot, it is important to look for horizontal and vertical lines within the shot
as this allows for symmetry within the shot. This can be as simple as a lamp-post or a
ladder. These lines should be as straight as possible (unless it is the desired effect).
The subject of a shot should have a comfortable amount of empty space around it. This
room can be used for various reasons. “Leading room” is empty space in the frame where
the character is heading. It could be clear floor if someone is walking or empty air if the
character is flying. It allows the audience to see where the character is heading. There is
also “looking room”. This space is in front of the character’s face and it demonstrates the
direction in which the character is looking. “Headroom” refers to the space between the
top of a characters head and the edge of the shot. There needs to be a comfortable amount
of room between the two – enough to show the character in full while not having an excess
of space that could be wasteful.
When filming the shot, taking the background into consideration is important. There needs
to be enough objects in the background to keep the shot interesting for the audience.
However if the background has too much going on, it could distract from the main focus of
the shot. Having an object half in frame can cause confusion, with the same rule applying to
actors. An actor should be fully in frame with excess being cut off at flattering places (such
as the stomach, not the knees).

18. The rules of third
The rule of thirds refer to an imaginary grid across a frame, which is used to
guide the focus points of a frame. The frame is “divided” into 9 sections.
When placing a subject in a shot, the subject should be at one of the four corners labelled
on the diagram. This is where the audiences eye-line is naturally drawn to and allows for
the main focus of the shot to be established. The lines also act as a guide when
positioning. For example when a face is in frame, it is advised that the eyes are on the first
horizontal line down as this is where the audience can see them better. While it’s not a
written rule that does not need to be followed, it should be understood in great detail
before it is broken.