Types of Camera Angles

TYPES OF CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS AND MOVEMENTS
1. CLOSE UP SHOT focuses heavily on the faceor an object, usually blurring out the
backgroundto set a deeper focus. This is often used to addemphasis to a scene or image.
2. HIGH ANGLE SHOT a crane is used to elevate the camera,and then focus on filming
something at groundlevel
3. LOW ANGLE SHOT In cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera angle
positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up. Sometimes, it is
even directly below the subject's feet. Psychologically, the effect of the low-angle shot is that it
makes the subject look strong and powerful.
4. DUTCH TILT SHOT A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera angle is deliberately
slanted to one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation,
frantic or desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc.
5. EYE-LEVEL SHOT An eyelevel angle is the one in which the camera is placed at the
subject’s height, so if the actor is looking at the lens, he wouldn’t have to look up or down.
Eyelevel shots are incredibly common because they are neutral. They often have no dramatic
power whatsoever, thus they are ideal for romantic comedies and news casting.
6. LONG SHOT This is the most difficult to categorise precisely, but is generally one which
shows the image as approximately "life" size i.e. corresponding to the real distance between the
audience and the screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet tall). This
category includes the FULL SHOT showing the entire human body, with the head near the top of
the frame and the feet near the bottom. While the focus is on characters, plenty of background
detail still emerges: we can tell the coffins on the right are in a Western-style setting, for instance.
7. EXTREME LONG SHOT This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and
is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an EXTERIOR, e.g. the
outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action e.g. in a
war film or disaster movie. There will be very little detail visible in the shot, it's meant to give a
general impression rather than specific information.
8. MEDIUM SHOT Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for
dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Variations on this include the TWO SHOT
(containing two figures from the waist up) and the THREE SHOT (contains 3 figures) Any more
than three figures and the shot tends to become a long shot. Background detail is minimal,
probably because location has been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know
where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character interaction. Another variation in
this category is the OVER-THE-SHOULDER-SHOT, which positions the camera behind one
figure, revealing the other figure, and part of the first figure's back, head and shoulder.
9. BIRD’S EYE VIEW This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange
angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first
(umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike
position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a
wider scheme of things.
.CAMERA MOVEMENT:
1. Pans A movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod, which
operates as a stationary axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which
is kept in the middle of the frame.
2. Tilts A movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

3. DOLLY SHOTS Sometimes called trucking or tracking shots. The camera is placed on a
moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object.
Complicated dolly shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to follow, hence the
name. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane, or even a shopping trolley (good method
for independent film-makers looking to save money). A dolly shot may be a good way of
portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a
close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.
4. CRANE SHOTS Similar to dolly shots. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of equipment,
but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action
or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter- balanced by a
heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.
5. HAND HELD SHOTS The hand-held movie camera first saw widespread use during World
War II, when news reporters took their windup Arriflexes and Eyemos into the heat of battle,
producing some of the most arresting footage of the twentieth century.
6. ZOOM LENSES A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the magnification of an
image. On a still camera, this means that the photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still
being some distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the position of the
audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus
saving a lot of time and trouble.

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TYPES OF CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS AND MOVEMENTS

2. Tilts A movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

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