Camera shots

An over the shoulder shot reveals one subject as seen from over the shoulder of another subject. This shot is often used in conversation between two people where the director wants to focus on the person speaking. Usually these shots are head shots. Could create quite a mysterious feeling, as it's as if your peering over the shoulder of someone else.



An establishing shot is often the first in a sequence, which establishes the position of elements relative to each other and identifies the setting. It is generally a long or extreme long shot indicating where, and sometimes when, the remainder of the scene takes place. The shot is usually very powerful as it usually involves a lot of detail. Could be of a country or city view.




A long shot is a shot in which a large object (e.g a complete human figure) fits easily within the frame. The shot contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. This shot helps you understand more about where the character is placed, and what type of person they are e.g- by the clothes they are wearing.







The medium shot is from just below the waitst to above the head. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. Gives a clear view of the person and what they are like.





Two shots are composed when two people are in the scene and their interaction is important. A two shot is a good way to introduce a conversation. The subjects do not have to be next to each other, there are many common two-shots which have one subject in the foreground and the other subject in the background. This type of shot could be used to understand the relationship between two characters, possibly for a 'love scene'.



An aerial shot is a camera shot from a helicoptor, balloon, kite or high building (higher than a crane). A good area to do this shot would be a scene that takes place on top of a building. If the aerial shot is of a character it can make them seem insignificant. These sort of shots tend to view just scenery and not characters, as the shot is from far away the characters sometimes become too small to look at.





Point of View shot is understood to be seen from the point of view of a character within the scene. It shows what a character (the subject) is looking at (represented through the camera). It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction (shot reverse shot).

The close up shot is used to reveal detail. If you are shooting just the head and shoulders of a subject this is a close up. Close-ups are used for distinguishing main characters. Major characters are often given a close-up when they are introduced as a way of indicating their importance. Leading characters will have multiple close-ups. The viewer is drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings.



An extreme close up is used to reveal very small details in the scene. It might be used to reveal horror in a subject (extreme close up of subjects mouth as they scream with fear). It might also be used in a mystery to show some detail that the detective picks up on or to show some small clue. You would normally need a specific reason to get this close.