Camera work

Camera shots

An extreme long shot contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning of a scene or a film to establish general location. This is also known as an establishing shot.

A long shot contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

A full shot contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters.

A mid shot contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot.

A close-up contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot.

An extreme close-up contains one part of a character's face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films, particularly the example above. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer.

Camera angles

An eye-level angle  puts the audience on an equal footing with the characters. This is the most commonly used angle in most films as it allows the viewers to feel comfortable with the characters.

A low angle is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful. This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at the character. This can help the viewers feel empathy if they are viewing the frame from another character's point of view.

A high angle is a camera angle that looks down on a characters. A character shot with a high angle will look vulnerable or small. These angles are often used to demonstrate to the audience a perspective of a particular character.


Camera transitions 

The most common transition is an instant change from one shot to the next. This is called a cut transition. Dissolve and cross fades is a transition which a gradual fade from one shot to the next. Cross fades and dissolve have a more relaxed feel than a cut and are useful if you want a Cross fades can also convey a sense of passing time or changing location. Fade is a shot to a single colours, usually black or white. The "fade to black" and "fade from black" are used in film and television. They usually signal the beginning and end of scenes.

Camera movements

Tilts refer to the up or down movement of the camera while the camera itself does not move. Tilts are often employed to reveal vertical objects like a building or a person. When the entire camera is moved forward or backward, this move is called dolly. Tracking is similar to dolling. The main difference being that in dollies the camera is moved toward or away from the subject, whereas in a track shot, the camera is moved sideways, parallel to an object. Zooming in is coming closer and zooming out is the opposite.