BASIC CAMERA SHOTS

-A medium long shot, also called medium full shot, is a shot that frames a character around the knees and up.

-A full shot is a type of camera shot in which a character’s entire body reaches from the top of the frame to the bottom of the frame. In a full shot, a character is framed from head to toe.

-A wide shot (WS), also referred to as a long shot, is a camera angle that shows the entire object or person and their relation to what surrounds them.

-An extreme long shot (abbreviated as ELS) is a long shot that covers a wider area. It is also known as an extreme wide shot (EWS). The shot frames the subject from a distance and focuses on its surroundings.

-A medium shot (also referred to as MS), or waist shot is captured at a medium distance from the subject.

-A medium close-up shot (or MCU) is a shot that frames the subject from just above their head down to about midway on their torso. The idea of a medium close-up shot is that you can still easily register the actor's emotions and facial expressions while also retaining some of the background.

-A close-up shot is a photograph or movie shot taken of a subject or object at close range intended to show greater detail to the viewer. You should be able to recognize the imagery in the frame, and if the close-up is on an actor, there will be a much more significant emotional connection between your viewer and the subject or object featured in the shot.

-An extreme close-up shot frames a subject very closely, often so much so that the outer portions of the subject are cut off by the edges of the frame. On an actor, this is commonly used to show specific portions of the body, like the face or hip, but it can go closer to show only an actor’s mouth, or even a single eye.