AS media student presentation on camera terminology

1. CAMERA
TERMINOLOGY
(IMAGES AND LINKS TO
IMAGES)
By Safiyah Bennington

2. Extreme Close up (ECU)
◦ Extreme Close-ups (ECU) lets you focus
(most commonly) on specific body
parts at a time. Eyes, feet, mouths,
hands and ears are most commonly
seen in this shot but is also on objects
and animals.
◦ The un-natural closeness of the shot
intensifies how the feeling and
convinces the audience to feel
empathy or some form of connection
with the character on screen. It
highlights the dramatic importance of
the scene

3. Big Close Up (BCU)
◦ A big close up (BCU) consists of a
persons entire face filling the shot.
These shots are very intense. The BCU is
too close to show general reactions or
emotion which makes it even more
dramatic. It is used to show the detail
and facial expression of the character.

4. Close Up (CU)
◦ A close up shot (CU) consists of the
persons full face and the top of the
upper chest but is also used on an
object at close range and overall
contains no or very little background.
This shot is used to heighten tension in
the scene and can introduce a
character. It also means that the
character can show emotions clearly.

5. Medium close up (MCU)
◦ A medium close up (MCU) shows the
top of the head to the lower chest and
is commonly used in conversational
scenes between characters. There is
more in the background than in a
close up but the sharpness of the
background isn’t as strong.

6. Medium Shot (MS)
◦ The Medium Shot (MS) shows the upper
half of the body from the top of the
persons head to the waist. This shot is
used to show the body language and
facial expression that the character is
trying to convey to the audience.

7. Medium Long Shot (MLS)
◦ A medium long shot (MLS) shows the
top of the head to just below the knee
(roughly the knees.) This shot is used a
lot in moving shots because it allows
the audience to see the character but
is also close enough for the audience
to see the facial expression and where
the character is.

8. Long Shot (LS) and Very Long Shot
(VLS)
◦ The Long Shot (LS) shows the full body of
the person but the is dominated most by
the background. This shot is used so that
the audience is able to understand the
relationship between the person and the
environment they are in.
A Very Long Shot (VLS) shows the full body
of the person and but also has a space at
the top and bottom of the screen. This shot
is used to show the atmosphere of the
scene and tells the audience where the
scene is set.
Long Shot
Very Long Shot

9. Two Shot (CU/MCU/MS)
◦ A Two Shot (CU/MCU/MS) is a shot of
two people. A two shot is good for
establishing the relationship between
the characters on screen. The two shot
is a way to naturally introduce two
people . A two shot can involve
movement and is a good way to focus
on the objects on the screen rather
than the background.

10. ‘Over the shoulder’ shot
◦ An over the shoulder shot is framed
from behind the person who is looking
at the other subject. One third of the
frame is taken up by the person who is
facing the subject. This shot is most
commonly used in conversational
scenes

11. Walking Room
◦ A walking room also known as Lead
Space is a shot is where there is more
space on the side of the frame of the
direction that the subject is going in or
facing.
◦ The camera pans as the person walks
and keeps a constant amount of
space in front of the subject. It is used
in scenes of movement.

12. High Angle Shot and Low Angle Shot
◦ A high angle shot is where the frame is
shot from above the subject, generally
used to show the subject is inferior
Low angle shot
◦ A low angle shot is where the frame is
shot from below the subject, generally
to show the subject is superior. High angle shot

13. Deep Focus
◦ In this shot, the camera focuses on the
near and far objects (the whole frame)
at the same time.
◦ Deep Focus

14. Pans
◦ Pans are a movement which scans a
scene horizontally and pans left and right
and can be done by hand or camera.
When used on a tripod,the camera is put
onto a tripod which is used as a stationary
axis point that the camera can turn on. This
shot is most commonly used to keep a
steady shot of a moving object
This is called a panhead and is used to move
the camera on the release plate
◦ Pans

15. Tilts
◦ This movement is similar to a pan
movement but instead of moving left and
right horizontally, it scans the scene
vertically and the camera tilts up and down.
◦ It also stands on the tripod or can be done
handheld.
◦ Tilt movement

16. Hand-held shots
◦ A hand held shot is when the camera is
connected to a harness and is used in
a scene create a sense of realism.
◦ Hand Held shot

17. Tracking Shots
◦ A tracking shot, also known as Trucking or
Dolly shot is when a camera is placed on a
moving vehicle/dolly moves alongside the
action and usually follows a moving object.
This shot is good for gradual moving
forwards or backwards in a scene.
◦ Complicated tracking shots are the same
except the camera dolly is put on a track
that is on the floor.
◦ Tracking shot
◦ Complicated tracking shot

18. Crane Shots
◦ A crane shot is pretty much the same
as a tracking shot but in the air. This
shot is useful because it can be used in
the air and goes up, down, left, right
and can swoop in or out on action or
move diagonally.
◦ Crane shot

19. Aerial Shot
◦ An aerial shot is like a crane shot but
taken from a much higher scale,
generally filmed from a helicopter (like
a flexible crane.) This shot is most
commonly used at the beginning to
establish movement and setting.
◦ Aerial shot

20. Wide shot
Wide shots can emphasize the isolation
of a figure and can be used to show a
crowd or to establish a set or location
◦ Wide shot

21. Zoom/Reverse Zoom
◦ The Zoom/ reverse zoom is the
adjustment of the camera lens where
the operator of the camera can move
in or pull away from the subject
◦ Example

22. Rule of thirds
◦ Instead of placing a person object in
the middle of the screen, they are
placed on a side (left or right) where
lines cross on the imaginary grid
◦ Rule of thirds example

23. Shallow focus
◦ Shallow focus is when the objects
closer to the screen are sharp and
visible but everything in the
background is out of focus. This is used
to emphasize the importance of the
object closer to the screen.
◦ Shallow focus