Shot Sizes in Filmmaking

These flashcards cover essential shot sizes and their significance in the filmmaking process.

Establishing Shot

A shot used to introduce a scene, establishing geography, time of day, and the scale of subjects in relation to their environment.

Master Shot

A comprehensive shot that captures the scene in its entirety, confirming the location and geography while clarifying character relationships.

Wide Shot

A shot that positions subjects far from the camera to visually represent their relationship to the environment, often making them appear lost or overwhelmed.

Full Shot

A shot that includes a subject's entire body from head to toe, used to make statements about physicality and presentation.

Cowboy Shot

A shot that frames a subject from the top of the head to just below the waist, often used to present confidence or confrontation.

Medium Shot

A neutral shot capturing a subject in a size similar to how we interact with people, framed from above the waist to just above the head.

Medium Close Up

A shot that frames a subject from mid-chest to just above the head, focusing on story and character details.

Close Up

A powerful shot that highlights a character's emotions, arranged at eye level to capture intimate thoughts and feelings.

Extreme Close Up

A shot that isolates a specific area of a subject, often the eyes or significant detail, to emphasize intimacy or drama.

Insert Shot

A shot used to highlight and isolate crucial elements of the narrative, often in conjunction with extreme close-ups.