Camera Field of View

Camera FIELD OF VIEW refers to how close the object seems to the viewer, or how much of the “field,” or scenery, in front of you is in the shot.

WIDE SHOTS: not much detail—good for introducing a place or person or giving background information.

MEDIUM SHOTS: Most comfortable shot for us to look at a person and best used in dialogue scenes.

CLOSE UPS: Not much background—best for showing emotion.

WIDE SHOTS

Extreme Long Shot (ELS or XLS): In the extreme long shot, the view is so far from the subject that s/he isn't even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings. The ELS is often used as an "establishing shot" - the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place.
Shawshank Redemption

Long Shot (LS): A long shot is simply a shot that shows all of something: a room, a building, a mountain. Long shots help viewers get a sense of "place." Long shots answer the question of: Where are we? This shows the whole scene. Frequently, you'll see video pieces begin with a long shot. This shot is also good if there's a lot of movement. This would show a person from head to toe. In the long shot, the subject takes up the full frame.

MEDIUM SHOTS

Medium Shot (MS): This shot shows less of a scene than the long shot. For example, if you were interviewing someone, this shot would show him or her from about the waist up in a medium shot. The medium shot shows some part of the subject in more detail, while still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject.

CLOSE UPS

Close Up Shot (CU): This shot shows an even smaller part of the subject or scene. Great for showing detail, like a person's emotional face or individual leaves on a tree. If you were interviewing someone, this shot would show the person from the top of the chest or shoulders up. Close-ups are obviously useful for showing detail and can also be used as a cut-in. A close-up of a person emphasizes their emotional state.

Extreme Close Up Shot (ECU or XCU) is even closer than a Close Up, often cutting off part of the person’s head. These shots work well in science documentaries or in suspenseful movies where you might see a shoe or an eye or a hand. You would normally need a specific reason to get this close. It is too close to show general reactions or emotion except in very dramatic scenes.

Home work: Analyze Camera Field of View shot by shot.

create a document in google drive CFV_Lastname_Firstname.

10 points

Analyze clip by clip (shot by shot)

example

1. ms

2. cu

Choose one of the two movies below from the VST Folder in your google drive

1. A Series of Unfortunate Events

2. Night at the Museum3