Today in our Media lesson, we are looking at various camera shots and angles. Not much else to add to that. So... here we go!
Framing or shot length:
Extreme Long Shot - This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away and is generally used for scene setting. It usually shows a form of exterior e.g. The outside of a building, a landscape and is also often used to film action scenes e.g war. It doesn't give much visible detail as it's meant to show a general overview of where the scene is set.
Long Shot - This is meant to show the image as approximatley life size ei corresponding to the distance of the viewer and the cinema screen. This type of shot shows the full length showing the whole human body. The head is near the top of the screen and the feet at the bottom. It focuses on the main charaters but still shows the details of the background e.g. the coffins are in a western styled setting.
Medium Shot - Normally contains a figure from the knees/waist up. This is normally used for dialoge or showing detail in an action/motion. This can include more than one figure, however if there are more than three people in the shot, it usually becomes a long shot. The detail in the background is very minimal and can be blurred to put more focus on whatever you're trying to focus on!
Close-up - This shot shows very little background and focuses on the main topic of the shot. In this example, the face of a cat. It magnifies the face whilst blurring out the background. A close up lets us know what the character is thinking. You would only let someone you trust get that close to your face, wouldn't you? Mothers, children and loved ones would get that close, so a close up would be a very intimate shot. The film maker may use a close-up to make us feel either very comfortable or very uncomfortable about a character.
Extreme Close-up - As its name suggests, it's an extreme version of a close up. It magnifies the what the human eye would experience. An extreme close up could be of something such as an eye like in this picture. It could be used in a sad scene as a tear comes out of the characters eye. Or it could be of other features such as the mouth or nose. As a tight focus is required, extra care must be taken when settinf up lighting. Any camera shaking or an error in focal length is very noticable.
Camera Angles:
Bird's eye view - As the name suggests, the camera angle is of what a bird might see whilst in the air. It can give a broad view of a scene, sometimes used in things such as documentaries. It can however, make farmiliar object look unrecognisable e.g. lots of umbrellas open on a rain street. It puts the viewer in almost a 'god like position' as you can see almost everything of a certain area. It can also make people/ things look insignificant e.g lots of people look like a colony of ants.
High Angle Shot - The picture above shows a man filming a high angle shot. It's not as extreme as Bird's eye view but still gives a general view. High angles make the object seem smaller, less insignificant or even scary! It is often used in films where it's portraying a CCTV camera's view of something.
Eye Level - It's a neutral shot. It shows you what a person may be seeing of something that is level to him/her. The camera will usually be place from six to seven feet from the ground.
Low Angle - This shot may help shorter actors appear taller (e.g. Tom Cruise) Low angles give a sense of confusion to a viewer. The added height may inspire the viewer to feel fear or insecure. It can show powerlessness during an action scene. The background of a Low Angle scene is usually the sky or a ceiling. It can sometimes be used to portray the sight that someone may have if they are hiding under a table, hiding behing something etc...
Oblique/Canted Angle - Sometimes a camera is tilted. It sometimes helps to show things such as the charecters facial expression (like in the picture above). It suggests things such as instability, transition and imbalance.
CUT!
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