Introduction To Media Studies - Camera Shots

As our first lesson into the Media Studies course our teacher 'Mr Lucas' thought it would be a good idea for us to get to know the different camera shots and angles. He explained to us that they are very important and create different emotions.

Camera Angle Definition-
The camera angle/shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. As as result, camera shots are very important in shaping meaning in a film.

Analysing Camera shots

Camera Angle	Purpose
Close Up	A shot that keeps only the face full in the frame. Perhaps the most important building block in cinematic storytelling.
Medium Shot	The shot that utilises the most common framing in movies, shows less than a long shot, more than a close-up.
Long Shot	A shot that depicts an entire character or object from head to foot. Not as long as an establishing shot. Aka a wide shot.
Establishing Shot	A shot, at the head of the scene, that clearly shows the locale the action is set in.
Low Angle Shot	A shot looking up at a character or subject often making them look bigger in the frame. It can make everyone look heroic and/or dominant.
High Angle Shot	A shot looking down on a character or subject often isolating them in the frame.
Over-The-Shoulder Shot	A shot where the camera is positioned behind one subject's shoulder, usually during a conversation. It implies a connection between the speakers as opposed to the single shot that suggests distance.
Pan	A shot where the camera moves continuously right to left or left to right.
Tilt	A shot where the camera moves continuously Up to Down or Down to Up. A vertical panning shot. A tilt to the sky is traditionally a last shot in a movie.
Tracking Shot	A shot that follows a subject be it from behind or alongside or in front of the subject.
Two Shot	A medium shot that depicts two people in the frame. Used primarily when you want to establish links between characters or people who are beside rather than facing each other.
Zoom	A shot deploying a lens with a variable focal length that allows the cinematographer to change the distance between camera and object without physically moving the camera.