Planning: Camera Shots and Angles

Extreme Long Shot
These types of shots can be utilised in a variety of ways. For example, the extreme long shot (pictured above) is usually used as a scene-setting. This makes it easier for the human eye to identify where the movie is set. In addition to that, the extreme long shot will display the outsides of buildings as well as the landscapes. If there is any action involved within the extreme long shot, it will be eye-catching which normally presented in war and disaster movies. This type of shot would be used at the very beginning of a movie.

High Angle Shot
High angle shots are when the camera is placed above eye level and therefore it means that it looks down on the subject. This makes the subject seem childlike, vulnerable and insignificant. A high angle shot would be used within a movie when the protagonist would come across the antagonist which intensifies the movie scene.

Low Angle Shot
Low angle shots are when the camera is placed below the eye level and looks up at the action. By using the low angle shot, it makes the subject appear larger, dominant and superior. In some cases, this shot would be used after the protagonist encounters the antagonist which is normally done using a high angle shot.

Long Shot

A long shot are seen as life sized. For instance, people on a movie screen would be seen as 6 feet tall. However, people fill approximately 75% of the entire scene. This type of shot would be used in the beginning of the movie after the extreme long shot so people would know the exact location to where the film is set.

Close Up Shot

These shots frame the entire object to be looked at. Close up shots are used to draw attention to the specific object and as the camera gets closer, tension is built. This is used for when someone is about to say something dramatic such as "Will you marry me".

Medium Shot

Medium shots will usually show the figure from the knees or waist up. This is also known as the Hollywood shot due to the fact that it is the shot used in most feature films. Medium shots are used for dialogue within the characters, body language, facial expressions and gesticulation (hand gesture). This type of shot would also be used just before a close up shot within a movie.

Medium Close Up

Medium close ups always give a view of the characters from the chest upwards in contrast to medium shots. Also, this is used when two characters have a conversation with each other on the screen.

Full Shot

A full body shot is when the height of the frame is filled with the human figure

Extreme Close Up

This type of shot shows further on what the human eye can see on its own. If the extreme close up shot is of a human being, it would only show either the mouth or the eye in one frame. An extreme close up would be used in intensifying moments within the movie such as hostile conversations and so on.

Planning: Media Psychology

What is Psychology?

Psychology is the study of the mind as it pertains to human behaviour.

The Psychic Apparatus: The theory of the psychic apparatus was first acknowledged by Sigmund Freud. He studied how the human mind can be broken into three main components which governs our behaviour.


The Id is concerned with pleasure, it does not care about the consequences and only operates on instinct and impulse. Let's take Michael for example, if someone was shouting loudly while using their mobile phone, he would most likely punch them and in order to gain silence which definitely pleases his needs without even considering the consequences, such as prison time.

The Ego

is concerned with the reality of consequences - but isn't entirely bothered by the good or bad side of the situation. It is highly aware of how others perceive it and it is constantly demanding that we act in a way which others will find approving. Meet my friend James, he wants to donate to charity however he doesn't really want to lose his favourite book.

The Superego acts as the judge between the two sides, giving you a choice to make - either the good or the bad. This in a nutshell, is consciousness. In many cartoons, you see the Angel on one shoulder and the Devil seated on the other as the decision makers.

In the media, the hero is known as the protagonist and the villain is known as an antagonist. These characters are usually seen as hyper exaggerated. We watch them as a way to appease the facets of our behaviour.

Jacques Lacan is a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who is known to have found the idea of the Mirror Stage and the Ideal I.

The Mirror Stage is basically the theory which explains that infants do not recognise themselves as being an individual, not knowing that they're a human or if they even exist.  At around 18 months, a child will realise that they are human, and will start to establish an interpretation of themselves.

The Ideal I is not capable of thinking negatively about ourselves, meaning that our way of thinking is almost definitely correct. We don't associate with everything a character provides, only what suits us. We may not want to look like someone but may associate with their abilities, wealth etcetera.

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. She worked heavily on scopophilia and voyeurism within the media.

Scopophilia is the pleasure through looking at the human form (often sexual).

Voyeurism is the sexual pleasure gained through looking at the human form when they're unaware of it (spying).

Scopophilia and Gender

The representation of gender is how we look at a character and how they return the look, which leads to the gaze - the idea of looking is what fulfils our sexual desires, the gaze is constructed to help create the binary structure of gender.
Sexual objectification occurs through our gaze, women are portrayed as sexual objects, or alternatively, meat. They are generally represented as weak in a variety of forms, such as looking childlike, vulnerable by shielding their chests and lastly, not looking directly at the audience.
However, male representation is the complete opposite: they are displayed as adult like, powerful and, as a result, they look directly at the subject.

The real question is: are females ever powerful?

Females may seem powerful, but through analysis, they still fall within the binary structure - take Wonderwoman for example, strong and powerful but sexually appealing.