As Coursework

1. EXTREME CLOSE UP
(ECU)
Extreme close ups are used in film to give the
audience a close up view of the character’s
facial expressions
It can also add suspense and mystery and so
on to the scene.
It is often used when characters show
important facial expressions and body
language.

2. Big Close up (BCU)
This camera shot is very useful to
contain and savour suspense and if used
at the right times help create an eerie
atmosphere as if the character is
standing right in front of your face,
close enough to see every detail in his
face and feel as though you could even
smell the characters breath.

3. CLOSE UP (CU)
This close up shot is useful in this
particular scene the character
Travis Bickle’s emotions are hard to
examine therefore the close up
helps bring the characters facial
expressions closer for examination

4. Medium close up
(MCU)
This is a medium close up but it can also be
referred as a Head and Shoulders close up.
This is a frame from the movie Raging Bull
(1980) It is effective as in this particular
scene there is a lot of tension and grim
suspense as the two characters Jake
Lamotta and Joey Lamotta are having a
conflict in a living room, Jake suspects that
his brother is having an affair with his wife.
This shot is useful in this scene as it
captures all of Robert De Niro’s facial
expressions during this particular scene.

5. MEDIUM SHOT (MS)
Medium shot is a camera angle
used in film when the camera
is placed at a medium
distance away from the
subject. This is useful because
it allows the audience to get
an idea of the whole setting
not just a certain detail in the
scene.

6. Establishing shot
An establishing shot is used to give the
audience an idea of where the scene is
taking place. An establishing shot is
often used at the start of a film or new
scene.
An extreme wide shot is often used for
this because it allows you to see a
large area in one shot.

7. High Angle shot
A high angle shot is when the camera is
above eye level. High angle shots are
often used to show status. This is
because when the camera is high up
looking down on a subject it can make it
appear smaller and powerless.

8. Low angle shot
This camera shot is often used when the
camera is focusing on a character of power
or who is intimidating, it is used to make
the audience feel as though they are
powerless under the weight of the
particular character.

9. Over the shoulder
shot
This shot is often used to leave the audience
feeling as though they are standing right next to a
charcter on screen, it is useful as it allows the
person opposite;s faciacl expressions to be seen
while the back of the other person can be seen
during the scene.

10. Point of view
shot
A camera shot taken from the
position of the subjects, used to
enhance a sense of realism and
audience involvement in the
scene.

11. Rule Of Thirds
Describes a technique used to make a shot look
interesting. Rather than placing a person or
object in the middle of the frame, they are
placed at the sides, or where the lines cross on
this imaginary grid.

12. Shallow Focus
Shallow focus is a photographic and
cinematographic technique incorporating
a small depth of field. In shallow focus
one plane of the image is in focus while
the rest is out of focus. Shallow focus is
typically used to emphasize one part of
the image over another.

13. Pan
Camera action involving gently
moving the camera 180 degrees
across the subject matter in a
horizontal plane.

14. Hand Held Shot
A shot filmed with the camera not on a
tripod but instead held by the camera
man, often whilst walking. This makes the
shots seem quite shaky. This can make the
audience feel the scene is more realistic,
or can make us feel like we are part of the
action.

15. Deep focus
A camera technique that allows
objects both near and far from the
camera to be in focus at the same
time.