a presentation showing all the different camera shots and angles that are used in both TV and Cinema.

1. Camera shots and angles
By Abbie Lloyd

2. About angles and shots:
the relationship between the camera and the object being
photographed AKA the angle/shot, gives emotional information
to the audience, and guides their judgement about the
character or object in the shot. The more extreme the angle,
the more symbolic and heavily loaded the shot will be.

3. Main Menu
What would you like to view?
Camera shots:
• Establishing shot
• Long shot
• Extreme long shot
• Medium shot
• Close up
• Extreme close up
• Over the shoulder shot
• Cowboy shot
Camera angles:
• Neutral Angle
• Low angle
• High Angle
• Dutch tilt
• Birds eye view

4. Establishing Shot
What is an Establishing shot?
An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new
scene. It is designed to show the audience where
the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide
shot or extreme wide shot.
What will an establishing shot communicate
to the viewer?
An establishing shot makes the viewer aware of the
locale where the next scene of the film will be
taking place. With an establishing shot the viewer is
also able to see other features of the scene. For
example; they may be able to see what kind of
weather there is in the scene.
Sometimes weather plays an important part in a
scene as it can evoke certain feelings an ideas about
what’s happening. It can set the mood for a scene
(e.g. Rain in a scene can help to trigger the idea
that what's happening in the scene is sad/tragic.)
This is called pathetic fallacy. In conclusion, an
establishing shot gives the viewer a well rounded
idea of where the next scene is taking place.
Example: Here is an establishing shot taken from the
beginning of the film ‘The devil wears Prada. It
clearly shows where the film is set.
Example: The first glimpse of the prison in The
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
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5. Long Shot
What is a long shot?
A long shot depicts an entire character or object
from head to foot – it typically shows the entire
object or human figure and is usually intended to
place it in some relation to its surroundings. It
sometimes referred to as a wide shot.
What will a long shot communicate to the
viewer?
A long shot, as mentioned previously, shows a
character from head to toe. Therefore a long shot
should give the viewer an idea of the state of the
character in a given environment. The viewer will
be able to visually engage with the combination
of costumes and setting for a scene to form ideas
in their head about the point in the film. A good
example of a long shot would be
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6. Extreme Long Shot
What is an Extreme long shot?
An extreme long shot is a view from an even greater
distance than a regular long shot, in which people
appear as small dots in the landscape if at all. It shows
more than a long shot but less than an establishing
shot.
What will an extreme long shot
communicate to the viewer?
An extreme long shot is intended to show a greater
relationship between the character/characters and
their surroundings. A good example of this would be the
picture at the bottom right. The camera is focused in
just enough to show how the two men are fighting
which is dangerous regardless of the surroundings.
However the danger to either of the two men is
emphasized by what we can see in the surroundings.
The cliff that they are standing on poses a serious
threat to the lives of the two men because its so high
up. If they fall, they could die. This heightens the sense
of fear of what's going on between the characters and
builds a greater sense of tension in the viewer.
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7. Medium Shot
What is a medium shot?
A medium shot is one of the most commonly used forms
of framing in cinema. Unlike in the long shot, or the
extreme long shot, a medium shot puts more of the
focus on the character in the setting. This form of shot
typically does not show the whole of the characters
body. Its more likely to show the character from the
waist up.
What will a medium shot communicate to
the viewer?
This form of framing diverts the viewers attention to
the actions of a character. (e.g. How a character is
reacting to an environment) this allows a reader to
focus on a characters individual actions and movements
in a setting. We get a firm idea of their body language
and how they are reacting to other people/things in the
environment. because location has been established
earlier in the scene - the audience already know where
they are and now want to focus on dialogue and
character interation.
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8. Close up
What is a close up shot?
A Close up shot is where a certain object, or more
commonly, part of a characters body, takes up the
whole frame.
What will a close up shot communicate to
the viewer?
This form of framing diverts the viewers attention to a
certain object, or part of a persons body. For example,
in the pictures featured to the right, a close up has
been used to draw all of the viewers attention to the
emotion of each of the characters. In other occasions, a
close up may be used to focus on a body part in order
to divert the viewers attention to a small yet important
gesture/action that would have not been noticed if a
medium or long shot had been used.
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9. Extreme close up
What is an extreme close up shot?
An extreme close up is a shot that focuses in on small
details even more so than a regular close up. This is to
bring to attention fine details that are sometimes not
visible at regular distance.
What will an extreme close up shot
communicate to the viewer?
This form of framing diverts the viewers attention to
extremely fine details that a regular close up may not
be able to capture. As you can see from the clip taken
from ‘Breaking dawn part 2’, a wide range of close ups
are used here to draw attention to very fine details like
the fibres in the air. My favourite bit of this clip is when
it focuses in on hey eyes. This is what tells the viewers
that she has made a transformation.
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10. Over the shoulder shot
What is an over the shoulder shot?
A shot where the camera is positioned behind one
subject's shoulder, usually during a conversation.
It implies a connection between the speakers as
opposed to the single shot that suggests distance
What will an over the shoulder shot
communicate to the viewer?
This kind of shot suggests to the viewer that
there is a connection between the speakers in
conversation. This can engage the viewer to
make them feel as if they were almost part of
this scene. It does not make them see other
characters through the eyes of another character
however, the person who’s shoulder is in the
image is usually dominant in the scene as not
only is their expression not on show while the
other person’s is (implying their response is
important) but also, the person who’s shoulder is
captured in the image is shown to be bigger than
the other due to the perspective of the shot. (a
predator/prey relationship.)
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11. Cowboy shot
What is a cowboy shot?
A shot framed from mid thigh up, so called
because of its recurrent use in Westerns.
What will a cowboy shot communicate to
the viewer?
This kind of shot gives the viewer the idea of a
predator and prey sort of relationship between
the characters. Typically gives off the impression
that the far away character in the shot is less
powerful than the one who is in the foreground of
the shot. This can also be used to show the fine
details on weaponry.
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12. Neutral angle
What is a neutral angled shot?
Eye Level. This is a fairly neutral shot; the
camera is positioned as though it is a human
actually observing a scene.
What will a neutral angled shot
communicate to the viewer?
The clue is in the name. a nautral angled shot has
little, to no psychological meaning/effect on the
viewer. The only thing it may portray is that a
character is genuine. As its shot at eye level, we
are almost seeing “eye to eye” with the
character, almost mirroring an idea of “equal
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13. Low Angle
What is a low angled shot?
A shot that looks up from a low angle at a
character or object.
What will a low angled shot communicate
to the viewer?
A low angled shot helps to give a sense of
confusion to a viewer of powerlessness within the
action in a scene. The background of a low
angled shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling.
The lack of detail about the setting adding to the
disorientation of the viewer.
The added height of the object may make it
inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer just as it
does to the charachter who is phsycologically
dominated by the figure or object on the screen.
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14. Birds eye view
What is a birds eye view shot?
A shot that is taken directly overhead of a scene.
What will a birds eye view shot
communicate to the viewer?
This shows a scene from directly overhead – a
very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar
objects viewed from this angle might seem
totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a
crowd). This shot dramatizes a threatening or
dangerous situation by suggesting that the
characters are at a disadvantage. People can be
made to look insignificant, ant like, part of a
wider scheme of things.
Film maker Alfred Hitchcock was very famous for
this style of shot.
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15. High angle
What is a high angled shot?
A high angled shot is a shot taken at a height that looks
downwards onto characters or objects almost giving the
impression that the viewer has more power and
authority.
What will a high angled shot communicate
to the viewer?
Not so extreme as a birds eye view, the camera is
elevated above the action. High angles make the
object/character photographed seem smaller and
less significant or scary. The object or character
often gets swallowed up by their setting/they
become part of a wider image.
Think of this as between eye level and birds eye
view.
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16. Dutch tilt
What is a Dutch tilt shot?
A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera
angle is deliberately slanted to one side.
What will a Dutch tilt shot communicate to
the viewer?
This can be used for dramatic effect and helps
portray unease, disorientation, frantic or
desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc.
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