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.