Cinematography: Shot framing, motion, & composition
Types of Shots:
Static Shot: The camera position and focal length remain the same while the camera is recording.
Dynamic Shot: Either camera position or focal length change while the camera is recording.
I. Framing:
ECU - Extreme Close Up - Highlights specific, often magnified, detail of an object or a part of a human face (usually eyes or mouth) to convey strong emotion/reaction. focusing on the eyes, mouth, & facial expressions.
CU - Close Up - For a person, the head takes up the entire frame - below the chin to just around hairline. Many cinematographers crop this shot in the hair or forehead. Used to show specific detail of an object. Used to display emotion with less detail and focus attention on smaller aspects of a wider shot. Chin is usually at bottom of the frame with hair at the top. Used to
MCU - Medium (Mid) Close Up - Camera frames subject from about chest level to just above head. Frames subject on screen from chest level upwards. Face is still the focal point of the shot. Gives the audience insight intot he character's emotions via non-verbal communication.
MS - Medium (Mid) Shot - Camera frames subject from waist level to just above head. Starts to give an impression of the whole subject. Allows space for the character to interact with other characters or the environment. Can serve as a bridge between wide-shorts and close-ups.
FS - Full Shot/Wide Shot - Camera frames the subject from head to toe - may have a little bit of space above head or below subject. Gives more emphasis to the location & setting of he scene. Commonly used to start a scene presenting the subject and to finalize a scene to show the progression of the subject's actions balanced with the environment.
VWS - Very Wide Shot - The emphasis is on the environment rather than the character. If a person is present, he or she typically takes up less than a third of the frame. Typically a building takes up the full frame. This is often used as a secondary establishing shot.
EWS/ELS - Extreme Wide Shot/Extreme Long Shot - Used to establish the setting Sometimes referred to as a weather shot. A building takes up part of the frame, the sky/environment is the majority of the frame, a person is a very small part of the frame if visible. This is typically used as the initial establishing shot and the goal is to show the subject's surroundings and the context for the action that is about to occur.
II. Composition
Two Shot - Gives space for the characters to interact with each other.
OSS - Over the Shoulder - Shooting with one subject in the foreground, usually out of focus to block part of the frame and draw the viewers attention to the subject who is speaking. These are framed wider or tighter depending on the intensity of the interaction. Usually shot with a camera position behind one of the subjects. Used to display what the subject is looking at. Very commonly used in scenes with dialogue. The more intense the dialogue/interaction between characters, the closer in the camera frames from a mid shot to a close up
LS - Long Shot - Often referred to as an image with depth, this is an image with a substantial foreground area and background area. The camera is at a great distance from the subject.
III. Perspective:
Birds Eye view - directly overhead 90 degrees perpendicular to subject
High Angle - raised but not quite 90 degrees over subject - camera tilted down towards subject makes the subject appear weak, powerless, or inferior.
Low Angle (Worms Eye View) - Camera tilted up towards subject makes the subject appear powerful or dominant. Also useful when filming a character looking down at an object, rather than filming the top of their head.
Eye-Level - Camera is positioned at eye level of the subject. Most commonly used angle in a film. Replicates the height and vision of the human eye.
Point of View - shot that is seen from the point of view of a character within the scene. Creates the impression that the audience is in the place of the character (or the audience is a character). Usually shot with 50mm lens (similar perspective to human eye) Shows the view from the character's perspective as if the audience were looking through their eyes. Creates a feelf or the audience that they can directly relate to the subject's situation or experience.
Canted Angle /Dutch Tilt - Camera positioned at roughly a 45* angle . Diagonal lines of the horizon and shot create a sense of uneasiness and the emotional feeling of distress or tension.
IV. Camera Motion:
Pan: Horizontal camera movement left and right about a central axis. Usually created on a tripod.
Tilt: Vertical up and down motion from a central axis.
Zoom in: Alters focal length (increasing) without the camera physically moving or changing position. Creates the illusion of moving closer to the subject.
Zoom Out: Alters focal length (decreasing) without the camera physically moving or changing position. Creates the illusion of moving away from the subject.
Dolly/Tracking: Allows the camera to move smoothly toward or away from the subject, sometimes following a moving character.
Crab: Type of tracking shot in which Camera moves smoothly from left to right usually following a moving character at the same rate/pace of movement through an environment.
Arc Shot - Combination of track and crab in semicircular path around the subject.
Pedestal(Boom): Camera moves vertically up and down
Whip Pan: Quick pan movement: usually creates some blurring as the camera movies
Crane: The camera moves in a wide sweeping motion mounted on a crane. Used very frequently when filming concerts & stage performances.
V. Content/Editing Classifications
Cut In: Moving from a wider to a usually more tight shot to emphasize a character’s action or manipulation of an object. Shifts the audience’s focus to something specific. Transition*
CutAway:Used to visually demonstrate general aspects of the narrative plot. Shifting the audiences focus from something specific. Eg: Phone conversation Transition*
"Noddy Shot:" Shows a character nodding or agreeing. This is especially used in dialogue or interview scenes to show an interaction between characters.
"Cowboy Shot": Shows a character from head to just below waist (to emphasize the posession of a pistol)
"Weather Shot": Display a change in weather; often used to represent the passage of time. Sometimes utilizes a timelapse effect.
"Aerial"- Shot from a drone, helicopter or other aerial craft, this footage is often used as part of an establishing sequence to add variety and a unique perspective. Usually consists of EWS framing.
Note: Sometimes a shot can have multiple simultaneous classifications, for example a dolly-mid-two shot would be a shot with a dynamic camera position showing two people from the waist up.