Camera Glossary

1. Camera Glossary
ANGLE
High Angle
To show that the
person has less power
Low Angle
To show that the
person has more
power
Birds Eye View
A view from the sky
looking directly down
Canted Angle/Dutch
Angle
Where the camera
isn’t straight forward
Worms Eye View
A view from the floor
looking directly up

2. Movement
Pan –Static Camera
The camera only move
from side to side
Tilt
The camera only
moves up and down
Track/Dolly
The camera is on a
track and follows
moving action
(running)
Crane/Mechanical Shot
Used to get a high shot
of the scene
Whip Pan
A quick movement
from left to right or
visa versa
Zoom In/Zoom Out
The camera gets closer
to its target/Gets
further away
Steadi Cam
The camera shake
Hand Held
The camera is in the
hands of someone

3. Composition
Deep Focus
Everything in
the picture is
focused
Shallow
Focus
Only the main
parts of the
scene are
focused
Pull Focus
Where the
focus changes,
makes different
things come
into focus
Eye Line
Match
To make sure
that the
characters eyes
match up in
both dialogue
scenes

4. Camera
Long Shot
The scene is
shot from a
distance
Close Up
The scene is
shot close up
to a specific
point
Medium Shot
In between a
long and
close up
Medium Close
Up
In between a
medium and
a close up
Medium Long
Shot
In between a
medium and
long shot

5. Extreme Close
Up
A close up on
an object or
characters
face
Aerial Shot
A camera
shot from
above
Establishing
Shot
A camera
shot the
shows the
area
Point of View
Shot
The camera
is from a
persons
point of view
Over the
Shoulder
To show that
there are
two people
in the scene
Two Shot
A shot that
includes two
people