Camera Shots and Angles

Extreme long shots are from very far away. They're often used as an establishing shot - something which sets the scene, not giving much detail but rather the general impression of the location and where the character will be/film will take place. It almost always shows the exterior of something - e.g. a building or a landscape. They are also used to show scenes of exciting action - for example, in a war film, or a disaster film. Sometimes, extreme long shots can be used to show the audience how alone, lost, or insignificant a character is - if they are completely engulfed in the background, and hard to see, they will look very small and powerless.

Long shots are used similarly to extreme long shots - to set the scene - but in general they are a lot more specific. They usually include a fair amount of detail, and have a specific focus. Long shots are difficult to define precisely, but they usually reflect images as life size (corresponding to the distance between the audience and people in the cinema). It's a very realistic point of view, which gives the audience a sense of virtual involvement, heightening enjoyment. The more visible detail of both the character and the setting allow the audience to visualise more accurately the specifics of everything previously mentioned, allowing it to act as a bridge between an extreme long shot and a closer one, such as a medium or close up - cutting from an extreme long shot straight to a close up could cause confusion.

Medium shots are the most typical type of shots to use when dialogue/interactions between characters are taking place. There are a few variations of this shot -  the two shot (featuring two characters from the waist up), the three shot (containing three characters), and the over the shoulder shot - filming over the shoulder of one character, revealing another, whilst still having the first's head, shoulder and part of their back visible. Over the shoulder shots help us understand the power dynamic between the two characters - where the camera is positioned (high angle or low angle) gives us an idea of who is stronger, taller, and more powerful. We can tell a lot about the situation the characters are in from over the shoulder shots - if we couldn't see the other characters face, it would be easy to interpret two people standing close to each other as them being comfortable around each other - however, by using an over the shoulder shot, and therefore being able to see their face, we can now potentially see anger, sadness or anxiety in their expression. This is why medium shots are useful in showing emotion - although you can't see their face in as much detail as you could in a close up, you can see their body language (which is something you can't see in a close up), which is often just as important.


Close up shots show very little of the background, concentrating either on someone's face or an element of mise-en-scene. This makes the focus of the shot more obvious, revealing its importance - whether it's some writing, a facial expression, or an object. It shows the audience that a certain persons reaction to something is significant to the film - especially when it is switched to that person's expression from the speaker, whilst they are still talking. Since there is not much background in the shot at all, we cannot focus on anything else, and so tend to notice the smaller details such as subtle facial expressions or emotion.

Extreme close up shots are the polar opposites to extreme long shots - they are very, very close to the subject, including no background. Since extreme close ups go beyond what we would be able to see with the human eye in a normal close up shot, they are often used for dramatic effect. Extreme close ups tend to either make the audience very comfortable or very uncomfortable with the character, depending on who they are - it enters both the audience's and the character's personal space, and so how much the audience likes them is a factor in how it will make them feel. Extreme close up shots being so much closer than what we would see in real life also allows us to notice very intricate details, such as colour variants in their eyes, or small, almost invisible freckles (If we like the character, this is why we wouldn't feel uncomfortable, as we like them enough to want to know tiny details about them).

The bird's-eye view is an angle which is shot from above. It often makes things look very unnatural to the viewer, as objects that they see will look very unfamiliar and strange. They can be used as establishing shots, as they are very long distance, taking in a lot of their surroundings - similarly, making the objects on the screen seem small, and the audience seem powerful.

High angle shots are elevated above the action, but they aren't directly above it like a bird's-eye view. They can introduce a lot of emotion into a scene - making a character seem smaller, weaker, younger, and sometimes lost/confused. This makes us feel very empathetic toward them, as we feel more powerful being in the dominant position.

Eye level shots are very neutral. They're based as if you are a character observing a scene - the other actors heads are at around the same level as the camera. They can help the audience feel a lot closer to the actors, as they show the subject as we would see them in real life. There is no power imbalance in this shot, as the audience and actor are on the same levels, and so it helps them feel more connected to the characters. 

Low angle shots are shots that are filmed from beneath normal eye level. They tend to make a character appear taller and more intimidating, or if they are showing a ceiling/sky they can sometimes add a feeling of disorientation or confusion to the scene. They often make the audience feel quite weak, as the person being filmed is portrayed as in power.

Wormseye shots are the complete opposite of birds eye view shots - they are very unusual, often distorting the view of the audience as there is no real 180 degree rule within it, but they are really great to use if the scene above is particularly interesting or nice to look at.

Canted angle shots are when you hold the camera at an angle (rotating on an axis, not vertical/horizontal tilts). In cinematography, it's a technique used to portray psychological uneasiness and unsteadiness, giving the audience a real feel for the mental states of the characters.

Panning shots are a type of moving shot - it's the most simple of all of them, as it just moves from one side to another. The camera is usually kept on a tripod, and it's turned to keep an in-motion object in the centre of the frame. Here is an example of a short panning shot - it follows the actor from one side of the room to the other, while keeping him in the (approximate) centre of the frame. However, panning shots don't always move to follow a specific action - in this scene from Game Of Thrones, there is a very long panning shot, which doesn't follow anything in particular. However, it's still very impressive in its own right, as it manages to include a lot of detail about what's happening in one long, fluid moment.

Tilts are similar to panning shots - they stay at a fixed point on a tripod, however, unlike panning shots they move vertically, instead of horizontally. Here is an example of a tilt shot - it moves from the sky, down to the ground where a person is standing. All tilt shots are generally the same, as they don't tend to follow a moving object down the centre of the screen - they tend to be more to show off the locations or to introduce a dramatic reveal.

Dolly shots, otherwise known as tracking shots, are a type of shot that move alongside the action, following it. The name 'dolly shot' comes from the piece of equipment used - a camera dolly is a wheeled cart (or something similar) that the camera mounts to, and is either pulled or pushed to create smooth motion. Dolly shots are great for following fast moving objects, e.g. trains, buses, or cars. They help divulge the speed of a certain scene to the audience. This is a really good example of a tracking shot - it's unusual in the fact that it lasts a very long time - almost 5 minutes - but it's very effective as it gives the audience a very good idea of the entire setting (and the extent of its size) whilst still being able to focus on the characters and what they are saying.

Hand held shots are very good at giving specific feelings to a film. Before the introduction of the Steadicam (first debuted in the Marathon Man (1976)), all hand held shots were just created by normal cameras - during WW1, they were very popular amongst news reporters. However, after catching on in mainstream Hollywood films, smaller, more lightweight cameras were demanded, as the unorganised, rough aesthetic was beginning to become popular. The Steadicam allowed for smoother handheld shots to be produced, and now, use of this contraption is used all the time in mainly walk-and-talk scenes, but others too. This scene shows use of the Steadicam - it follows two characters walking and talking up a street, and it moves from angle to angle. This is effective as we get a lot of different viewpoints of the characters - experimenting with the different emotions and power imbalances we feel. 

Crane shots are great for following objects moving in the air. The crane itself is a large piece of equipment that can move in all directions, and it holds the camera at the top of it. The crane balances using a weight system, which is controlled by a crane operator. Notable examples of crane shots include Tenebrae (1982), where the camera appears to crawl out the window and up the building, Touch of Evil (1958), where there are many examples of crane shots showing new settings, and High Noon (1952), where there's a crane shot rising above a character, showing the background.

It's important when filming to use a variety of angles, as each of them adds a unique feeling to the scene. For example, cutting from high angle to low angle shots is a great technique in showing a power imbalance between two people, which, if you just used eye level shots, wouldn't be visible. Every different angle has a different purpose, and so it adds variation and excitement to the scene, and sometimes makes the meaning a lot clearer. Also, it stops the audience from getting bored - if there was a conversation between two characters, and it just used a basic, eye level two shot, there would be no mental stimulation apart from the conversation itself. Adding in the over the shoulder shot, an establishing extreme long shot, and playing around with power imbalances using high and low angle shots creates a much more interesting scene to watch, as it feels like there is so much more happening. Using different length shots allow you to control what the audience focuses on - using close ups makes them to focus on the details, whilst using extreme long shots makes them acknowledge the wider setting. This is important as it allows the story to be told effectively, and it makes sure that no important detail is missed. Shot types can manipulate how the audience perceives a scene, and so experimenting with them until it gives the right atmosphere is incredibly important - the most exciting scene in the world can become very, very boring if different distances, angles and ways of moving the camera aren't used.

This is an example of a high angle shot and an extreme long shot. These are used in the establishing shots of the film, as they don't include a lot of detail and since they're very far away, they help to set the scene. The use of an extreme long shot combined with a high angle shot also gives us a sense of how isolated the characters are - the car is so small, and is surrounded by nothing but a long stretch of road (the tracking shot following the car shows this), a forest and some large mountains in the background - maybe an indicator of how the rest of the film is going to go. At the beginning of this clip, the camera glides across the surface of the lake, with the mountains looming on either side. This may make the audience subconsciously scared, as the camera is so low down - we have, at first, gigantic mountains on either side of us, and a huge, dark body of water beneath us.

The shots and angles used within this opening sequence are very important in setting the scene. It begins with an extreme long shot, showing a neighbourhood. This, very slowly, moves inward to focus on a specific street, allowing us to get a more detailed feel of where the character lives. There are then several different shots and angles - first, a birds eye view shot of the main character laying in bed, then followed by a close up of him slipping on his shoes, and then a very long (duration) medium shot of him in the shower. These all seem very long and dragged out, and when camera movement is involved it occurs at a very slow pace. This opening sequence uses shots and angles very effectively, as they all match up with the narration, accurately reflecting his tone of voice and emotions at that point in the film.

This film opening is a great example of extreme close ups. The shot includes hair, fingernails and dead skin being trimmed/shaved off, and landing on a surface. This is great as it does exactly what an extreme close up shot should do - it makes you focus on the details and the object right in front of you, not the background, and makes you think a lot about a small piece of a larger object. After this sequence, there are many different shots, but they tend to revolve around close ups - meaning the audience focuses on what's going on, rather than the introduction of the character (This is very important for later on in the film!).

Shorter shot lengths help to create dramatic tension. Quickly cutting between shot types, or even different locations, often reflect a character's frame of mind - jumpy, tense and quick-moving. My favourite example of short cuts in film are the drug montages in Requiem for a Dream (2000) - the nature of what they're showing, and how the characters are probably feeling is greatly enhanced by the shot lengths. (See post on montages for more information on these). They can both emphasize the importance of something and be used for something unimportant - it depends on the content of the shot. For example, if an object is focused on very fleetingly, it may be showing how important it is, but also the nature of the importance - the object will bring about a lot of fast moving action. However, skipping over something very quickly without focussing on a specific object, like a character standing up, shows that it's unimportant as there is nothing to quickly catch the audience's attention that seems of value.

Longer shot lengths also create tension. They often give the impression that something is about to happen, as if you are waiting for it at the end of the shot. They can also be very good at exposing emotion, as if they focus on a character for a long period of time without cuts, it tends to make the emotion they are showing a lot more raw as it's unedited. Also, longer shots can tell an audience that they need to remember something - if they focus on an object for a longer time, especially if it's a few seconds after the main character of that scene has left the frame, we know that it's something we need to concentrate on and keep in mind for the rest of the film. Sometimes, long shots are used to allow the audience time to absorb what they've just seen/heard - if there's a serious conversation between two characters, and one of them says something vital to the overall plot, there may be a longer length shot of anything from the other character's facial expression to the first person walking away, so the audience focuses and takes in what's just happened.