Camera Shots (Vocabulary)

Please learn the following basic film vocabulary.

Shot: How much subject matter is included within the frame of the screen.
In general, shots are determined on the basis of how much of the human figure is in view. Additionally, a shot is also an unedited strip of film, recording images from the time the camera starts to the time it stops.

Types:

1. extreme long shot - taken from a great distance, almost always an exterior shot; shows much of the setting or locale. They serve as spatial frames of reference. Used where locale plays an important role. (Historical, epics, westerns, etc.)

2. long shot (proscenium shot) - About the distance one would be from the theatre stage to the audience. Usually includes complete human form to a distance less extreme than the ELS.

3. Full shot - Fits the whole human form in the frame of the camera.

4. Medium shot - Usually contains a figure from the knees or waist up. It is useful for shooting exposition scenes, for minor movement and for dialogue.
A. Two shot (two people in the shot, usually from waist up)
B. Three shot (three people crowded in the shot)
C. Over the shoulder (focal point is the person the viewer can see, shot over another character's "shoulder" to show POV

5. Close up - Usually a person’s face (or neck and shoulders). Concentrates on a relatively small object. Elevates the importance of small details, often symbolic.

6. Extreme close up - Focuses on a very small item. The item usually fills the frame. Used to elevate importance of small details; again, often symbolic.

7. Deep Focus Shot (wide angle shot) - A long shot with many focal distances. Shot captures objects at close, medium and long ranges simultaneously.

Camera Movement Shots

8. Pan, panning shot: (short for panorama), a revolving horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or vice versa.

9. Tracking shot, trucking shot, dolly shot: A shot taken from a moving vehicle. Originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera.

10. Crane shot: A shot taken from a crane (mechanical arm) which carries the cinematographer and the camera to move in any direction, vertical or horizontal.