Mid Shot

The Mid Shot (MS)

The Medium Shot (MS) is where a character's upper body is in the shot. Because the character is further away from the camera, we also can see some of the background. The MS is used to show a character within their environment. We can see their arms, so gestures and posture can be seen, which gives us an insight into the character. Seeing some of the background also shows the character and how they are interacting with other elements in the scene (People, Objects, Conversation, Gestures).

The Mid Shot is a very natural and normal shot, which presents characters in a way that doesn't draw attention to subtle emotions or action.

This shot also enables characters to be seen interacting with characters and the world around them.

This is a very tricky shot to write about, as it is so normal and functional. It is easier to to write about when it is used amonst other techniques such as camera angle, lighting, character performance and dialogue.

Kookie (using PETAL structure)

The Mid Shot has been used by the director throughout the film to establish the characters and their relationships with each other.

The director uses Mid Shots on Bree which shows her watching TV on a sofa whilst she talks to the TV by imitating the script.

A Mid Shot catures a subjects upper body, with some elements of the background being visable. The use of Mid Shot in Kookie captures Bree's upper body, the couch and the kitchen in the background, thus showing her being a bit of a couch potato, and the space in which the cookie jar resides.

The use of Mid Shot allows us to understand Bree as a character, who is familiar to the audience due to her doing what we can all be guilty of doing. She obviously likes to watch TV, and has a cheeky sense of humour, and is in a space that she feels is comfortable and relaxed. This makes her character likeable, and shows what she is familiar with in a relaxed setting. This is important, as the director then is able to slowly twist this 'normal' setting later in the film, to make it uncomfortable for Bree, and the audience.

Mid Shot is also used frequently in the conversations between Bree and her mother. When we meet Bree's mother, she confronts Bree over eating too many cookies, and both are shown in mid shot during a shot-reverse shot conversation. Bree is shown in high angle, and Bree's mother is shown in low angle.

The use of Mid Shot here alows us to see how the two feel about each other. Both have a good humour with smiles evident, but the camera angles also present the mother as the authority and Bree as being bound by the rules of the house. This helps to establish the central conflict which drives Bree to continue to sneak cookies from the jar, despite knowing that she is not allowed to.

When Bree later returns to get a cookie, after the cookie jar has been swapped, the Mid Shot shows Bree again in Mid Shot but this time she is nervous and looking over her shoulder as she reaches for the cookie jar.

This use of Mid Shot shows her interacting with the cookie jar, and shows the audience that its presence has unsettled her by making her hesitant to get a cookie. It also shows the paranoia she has, but it is mainly focused on being caught by her mum.

Mid way through the film, Mid Shot has been used to capture Bree pulling the red sheet and the fear that resulted at there being nothing underneath. The mid shot allows the audience to see both her fear (reaction shot) and the clown Kookie approaching with sinister speed.

This is the first indication that the cookie jar, and its evil presentation, could actually be real and have a real impact on Bree and upsets the 'normal' established earlier. The Mid Shot captures Kookie's menace by having him approach from behind Bree, and ends up looming over her as he clamps his hands down over her shoulders. This combined with his speed and sudden reveal, creates a good jump scare which also reveals the very real threat he presents to bree.

Towards the end of the film, Bree has another conversation with her mother. The use of Mid Shot captures both in Mid Angle as they come to a happy truce over not having cookies in the house.

Mid Shot allows us to see that they are both at ease, and that through dialogue and their relaxed body postures, have come to a mutual understanding. This is reinforced through the use of Mid Angle, as neither are presented as having power over the other. This is an important part of the film, as the director wants us to believe that everything is back to normal, and that makes the audience relax, leaving them open to the second rise in tension that follows.

The end of the film captures Bree in a few very different Mid Shots. The first is the shot of Bree in low angle as she draws 'something' on paper which upsets the baby sitter who cannot wait to leave. The next is a shot of Bree in bed, tucked in tight and cozy, saying good night to her mother. The last is when she ducks under the covers and wishes Kookie a good night right before another jump scare.

These uses of Mid Shot help tie up the story. The Low Angle, Mid Shot of Bree tells us that she has taken ownership, or power from her experiences with Kookie. Clearly this is a dark influence based upon the babysitters reactions and the subsequent shots of dolls with clown makeup drawn on, and indicates that Bree is quite disturbed. The conversation where Bree's mother asks if she is alright again relaxes the audience as it shows both Bree and her mother happy and relaxed, seemingly returning things to 'normal'. The last Mid Shot shows Bree underneath her blankets, with a torch on in a fairly typical childlike situation of wanting to stay up after bedtime. This again disarms the audience into expecting 'normality', especially with her happy expression. With the last jump scare, we are left with a sense of horror that Bree is far from alright, and has somehow embraced the darkness and evil of this sinister clown Kookie.

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