This document defines and provides examples of various film techniques used in shot composition and editing, including shots sizes (extreme close up, close up, medium shot, long shot, extreme long shot), camera movements (track, pan, tilt, zoom), cuts, pace, performance, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, and mise-en-scene. Examples are taken from The Lord of the Rings films to illustrate these techniques.

1. MICRO ELEMENTS
By Adam Brown

2. Extreme Close Up
An Extreme Close Up (ECU) is a tight shot where the detail of an object or person
is seen. For example, blood on an individual knife blade or a person’s eyes. This
is to convey a clear importance on that individual detail. It is to show an emotion or
adds an emphasis on the object (in this case the Ring is the main object in the
centre of the shot so it is clear that it is important)

3. Close Up
A close up shot shows the details of the actor/prop at that point but it doesn’t
reveal anything about the surroundings as it only shows one thing up close (for
example in Lord of The Rings, Sam is seen from his head and shoulders)

4. Medium Shot
A medium (mid) shot is useful to display close up action of the characters, the
characters and the scenery/surroundings to give a sense of realism for the
audience. A mid shot usually consists of an actor/actress from the waist up (like
the screenshot where Aragorn is only seen from the waist up with a hint of
scenery)

5. Long Shot
A long shot sets the scene of the film. It generally involves showing the whole
body of a character and the surroundings. This is to give the audience an idea of
who the person is and where they are. It doesn’t give exact details as it is not as
close up however it gives a general indication of the surroundings (as shown by
the screenshot below)

6. Extreme Long Shot
An extreme long shot usually identifies scale or size a key message. It also shows
the wider surroundings (in this case the settlement on the hill a far distance away
from the characters in the bottom left corner of the shot). An extreme long shot
can identify people in it or it can be very far away with only a small suggestion of
the characters moving within the surroundings.

7. Track
Tracking is a movement where the camera follows the
actors/actresses during a scene where they move. This
is to indicate they are moving during the scene and the
camera moves in the same direction of the performers
at the same pace. It is usually done by using a rig, a
Steadicam or a tripod.
An example of this in Lord of The Rings is when the
camera follows the scene of Aragorn and Eowyn when
they are on a ‘march’ to safety along with horses and
other characters.

8. Pan
A pan is when the camera moves in the direction of a scene or dialogue from a
distance but doesn’t follow the same path; it is an overview and goes from left to
right or vice versa. It is similar to a track however it doesn’t follow the scene
closely nor does it ‘track’ the movement. It moves over it all and incorporates the
surroundings along with either diegetic or non-diegetic sound.
An example from Lord of The Rings is when the army is marching; the camera
pans over the army in general from one side to the other while the actor’s voice is
heard above it.

9. Tilt
A tilt is when the camera is not moving and moves either up or down. A pan is the
movements of left and right whereas a tilt is the movements of up and down. It is
less common than panning however it can be used effectively in certain scenes. A
tilt upwards from its original position could suggest an emphasis on size (like the 2
images below suggests it is a large tree; larger than first expected.)

10. Zoom
A zoom is a camera movement when the camera appears to move towards or
away from an object. This can be used in extreme long shot sequences to
immerse the audience in the action or it could be used to zoom in on an actor’s
face to emphasise the emotions their character is feeling at that current time.
The example shows how the path
is more important than first
thought as it is zoomed into and it
also becomes darker and more
menacing for the character.
(this example is known as a ‘dolly-
zoom’ or the ‘vertigo effect’

11. Cut
A cut is an instantaneous transition from when shot to another. It is used in a
variety of sequences such as fight scenes so that the main characters can be
seen fighting, all within a short space of time.
The examples shown below are within the same setting and are shown within the
same minutes; the cuts are fast so the pace is faster also.

12. Pace
Pace is the speed in which shots are put together and change throughout a scene
or it is the speed in which camera angles are used to create an atmosphere or to
show the variety of characters within a certain scene .
An example in The Lord of The Rings is the use of fast paced shots during the
fighting scenes at the end of The Two Towers. This helped to engage the
audience while also making it seem that it was happening in real time.

13. Performance
The performance incorporates how successfully the actors work with each other
on-screen; if the performance is good then it helps the audience get a sense of
their characters and the chemistry between them (both between the characters
and between the actors)
For example in The Lord of The Rings, the characters of Frodo, Sam, Merry and
Pippin had to put on a performance to suggest that they had grown up together.
The performance was good as it was both authentic and believable.

14. Diegetic
Diegetic sounds are sounds which
have a visible source. When the
sound is made, it is visible to the
audience what made the sound i.e.
on-screen dialogue, sword clashing
to make the sound of metal
clanging, wild animals etc.
Non Diegetic
Non-diegetic sound is the opposite
of diegetic sound; it is when a sound
is picked up by the audience
however it is not apparent what
made the sound as there is no on-
screen visual for the audience to
make the sound up to

15. Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene is a collaboration of the use of settings,
costume, figure expression and props. If any of these are
not believable, the audience will not enjoy the movie as
much as if they were all believable. Setting is where it was
filmed (exterior, interior, green screen?), costume is what
the actors where (which requires continuity throughout)
figure expression is [] and finally props are what is seen
on-screen being used by main actors and extras; if they
are not realistic then the movie will not have a high quality
of views/performance.
An example would be the weapons used in Lord of The
Rings; they look authentic and realistic to the audience
which makes it a better quality scene.