SHOT TYPES , ANGLES & BASIC COMPOSITION TGJ4M SHOT TYPES , ANGLES & BASIC COMPOSITION

Establishing Shot Sets up, or "establishes“ the location, the scene's setting. Frequently videos begin with this shot. It's helpful because it sets the stage - the viewer gets oriented to where s/he is.

Establishing Shot/Extreme Long Shot An establishing shot could be an extreme long shot of a room, the front of the school, or a Extreme Wide Shot of a set. For example, the beginning of talk shows such as Ellen begin with Wide Shots of the studio and they establish the location.

Long Shot/Wide Shot Subjects take up the full frame. In this case, the their feet are almost at the bottom of frame, and their heads are almost at the top. Small amount of room above and below subject can be thought of as safety room — you don't want to be cutting the top of the head off. It would also look uncomfortable if their feet and head were exactly at the top and bottom of frame.

Medium Shot Subject shown from about the waist up in a medium shot. Use this when you want a closer look at your subject, or when you need to transition between wide shots and close-up shots. Great for interviews.

Medium Close Up Shows the person from the top of chest or shoulders up. Half way between a MS and a CU. Shows the face more clearly, without getting uncomfortably close.

Close Up Certain feature or part of the subject takes up most of the frame. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face (unless specified otherwise). Close-ups are obviously useful for showing detail and can also be used as a Cut-in. CU of Person emphasizes their emotional state – conveys emotion.

Close Up

Extreme Close Up Great for showing detail, like a person's emotional face or individual leaves on a tree. Getting in uncomfortably close. Can be used as a cut-in or cutaway.

Extreme Close Up

Cutaway A shot that's usually of something other than the current action. It could be a different subject (eg. this cat when the main subject is its owner), a close up of a different part of the subject (eg. the subject's hands), or just about anything else. The cutaway is used as a "buffer" between shots (to help the editing process), or to add interest/information.

Cut-in Like a cutaway, but specifically refers to showing some part of the subject in detail. Can be used purely as an edit point, or to emphasise emotion etc. For example, hand movements can show enthusiasm, agitation, nervousness, etc.

2 Shot A comfortable shot of two people. Often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show.

2 Shot

Over The Shoulder Looking from behind a person at the subject, cutting off the frame just behind the ear. The person facing the subject should occupy about 1/3 of the frame. This shot helps to establish the positions of each person, and get the feel of looking at one person from the other's point of view.

ANGLES – EYE LEVEL The most common is eye-level. Most comfortable to audience. Shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life.

LOW ANGLE (Worm’s Eye) Shows the subject from below, giving them the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

HIGH ANGLE (Bird’s Eye) Shows the subject from above - the camera is angled down towards the subject. This has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful, less significant or even submissive.

Dutch Title – Slanted Angle Camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle. Creates interesting and dramatic effect. Famous examples include Carol Reed's The Third Man, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and the Batman series. Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV-style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.

Dutch Tilt

Composition RULE OF THIRDS

Rule of Thirds An image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. Important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

Head, Lead, and Looking Room “Headroom", "looking room", and "leading room". These terms refer to the amount of room in the frame which is strategically left empty. Without this empty space, the framing will look uncomfortable. Everything in your frame is important, not just the subject. What does the background look like? What's the lighting like? Is there anything in the frame which is going to be distracting, or disrupt the continuity of the video? Pay attention to the edges of your frame. Avoid having half objects in frame, especially people (showing half of someone's face is very unflattering). Also try not to cut people of at the joints — the bottom of the frame can cut across a person's stomach, but not their knees. It just doesn't look right.

Head Room Headroom is the amount of space between the top of the subject's head and the top of the frame. A common mistake in amateur video is to have far too much headroom, which doesn't look good and wastes frame space. In any "person shot" tighter than a MS, there should be very little headroom. HEAD ROOM

Lead Room Room for the subject to move in to. Needed in walking scenes, sports scenes like throwing the ball. NO LEAD ROOM LEAD ROOM ( & R of T)

Looking Room Space on camera for someone to “look” in to. LOOKING ROOM