Richard Stockley

Shot TypesClose ups:Close ups show the detail and emotion to the audience. These usually contain the face and shoulders of a subject with a little head room. These shot are most common as they show a real sense of emotion. There are two different close ups: Extreme close up and a standard close up

Extreme close up:Any shot that zooms in very close to a part if a subject is known as an extreme close up. They usually focus on the face, mouth eyes and hands of a human. These shots can create a feeling of intimacy in the video and to convey a mood or an emotion. They are generally preceded, and followed, by a wider shot.

Medium shots:The medium shot is ideal when the subject is speaking or delivering information and the fine detail isn’t needed. It is also useful when people are gesturing with their arms. The problem with medium shots is that they don’t show as much detail as a close up but the introduce more of the background. This can be distracting

Two-shot or three-shot:Often medium or wide shots, these are shots of two or three people in one scene. They are often used in interviews and are also good for establishing a relationship between subjects.

Long wide shots:A long shot shows a great deal of background, be it the set, the landscape or the venue. Long shots are essential to establish the scene for the viewer and to put the rest of the film into context. This is why they are also known as establishing shots. Watch carefully, and you'll see that almost every TV program or movie starts with a long shot, and then uses them whenever the scene changes. After the long shot, you'll see mostly close ups.

Extreme wide shot:Extreme wide shots are far removed from the subject and often shot with a wide-angle lens. They may show the subject in the distance, but the emphasis is more on showing the subject in his or her environment.

Wide shot:Wide shots provide an overall view of the whole scene. If the shot contains a person, the whole body is shown.

Over the shoulder shot:These shots are filmed from just behind a person. They tend to show the back of a person’s head and sometimes just one shoulder. This is usually made for a conversation between two

Richard Stockley

Shot Types

POV shot: Also called a subjective shot. The camcorder adopts the perspective of a character. We see what a character sees and therefore identify with him/her

High angle - In these shots, the camcorder looks down on the subject making it appear smaller and less important. High angle shots are often used to make a person appear vulnerable.

Low angle - In low angle shots, the camcorder looks up at the subject. Use these shots when you want to make your subject appear larger, imposing, or more important to the viewer.

Tilting shot - Experiment with panning in the vertical plane instead of the horizontal. This gives the viewer a uncomfortable sense