Shots and Angles

The Building Blocks of the

Cinematic Language
(TV and Film)
By Oran Donnelly
Camera Angle
Determines the audience viewpoint, or how they see the story, and
the physical amount of area covered in a shot.
One of the most important factors in keeping an audience interested.
Dont Jar the camera use a tri-pod or dolly.
Be sure to frame the shot appropriately .
Maintain scene direction.
Be mindful to the rule of thirds.
Pay attention to the view finder.
Pay attention to the background.
What are the four basic styles of film making?
Documentary a journalistic style, recording of real events. Used to
communicate an opinion or idea.
Narrative general storytelling films.
Instructional How to videos, to teach a subject.
Experimental Film for films sake, using the camera, accessories or
effects to gain a new approach or process film making.

All styles of video making are governed by the aesthetics of the director
and the genre of film.
Vocab
Aesthetics Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.
Noun A set of principles underlying and governing the work of a
particular artist or artistic movement.
Genre A category of artistic composition characterized by
similarities in form, style and subject matter.
Cinema The production of movies as an art or industry.
The Building Blocks of Cinema
Frame
Shot
Scene
Sequence
Establishing Shot

A shot used to establish a new scene within a film, giving the audience a general idea of the
particular environment theyre about to watch from in the scene.
Medium Shot - MS

Typically from the waist upwards from of a character or characters to establish the
character in the scene, can still see part of surroundings with the character in it.
Close Up - CU

The particular character/ subject takes up most of the frame, usually their face in order to show the character
in a greater detail and show their emotions as the audience is in their personal space.
Extreme Close-Up - ECU

Very close to the subject, showing great attention to detail, normally done for a specific purpose and is
too close to show a reaction or emotion unless within a very dramatic scene.
Master Shot

A film recording of an entire scene, typically a long shot capturing all the actions and
dialogue in the scene.
Over the Shoulder Shot - OSS

The shot is from behind a person looking at a subject in order to establish the
position of the people in the scene and usually used when people are in
conversation with one another.
High-Angle Shot

A shot in which a subject is looked down upon from a high angle, used in order to make the subject in
the scene appear vulnerable in relation to the mood or setting.
Low-Angle Shot

The shot is positioned anywhere below the eye line of the subject or subjects, the
effect is to give the sense that the characters in the scene are powerful.
Point-Of-View Shot- POV

Shows what the character or subject is looking at, used to captivate audiences.
Dutch Angle

Where the camera is placed at an angle, used to portray unease or madness.

 Dolly Zoom

The dolly zoom is where the camera moves closer to the subject whilst the lens pulls back in
order to keep the subject the same size.
 Long Take

One long shot where there is no interruptions, typically longer than a normal take and the majority of the time longer
than most shots in the film, takes long to produce as no mistakes can be made and it creates a sense of continuity
throughout the take.
Long Shot - LS

Similar to a wide shot, the focus or character in the scene takes up the full height of the shot, and is
mainly a wide shot of the whole scene, showing the background that the subject is in or to evoke
certain emotions.
Extreme Long Shot ELS/XLS

An extreme long shot is where the shot is from very far away that the subject is barely visible in the shot in
order to show the environment around them.
It is also used as somewhat of an establishing shot as well as a way in showing an effect of something e.g. a
wars grand destruction.
Tilt

A shot involving the camera pointing up or down from being in a still position, less common than panning due
to the fact that a tilt up or down isnt as much of a natural motion as a pan, to perhaps evoke some sort of
disorientation to the audience in a scene.
Two Shot

The two shot consists of having two people in the shot with no problems, used to typically build a
relationship between two people within a film or television series, it introduces the two subjects and show
that they are both of equal importance.
It easily shows interaction between two people with no distraction from the background environment.
Three Shot

Similar to the two shot, but with three people instead of two.
Again establishes the relationship between the three characters in the shot/scene and again focuses on the three
characters with little to no distraction from the background environment.
Group Shot

A shot comprising of many people, not two or three although again similar to the two/three shot.
Establishing a group of people into a scene or shot as being together or part of one thing, showing everyone
involved; getting a feel of all the characters in one shot.