1: Cinematography & Camera Techniques

180 system

convention of narrative filmmaking in which the director establishes an imaginary line across the set

anamorphic lens

a lens in the camera that squeezes a widescreen image onto a normally shaped frame of film and or a lens in the projector that unsqueezed the image back out to widescreen width

aspect ratio

the ratio of the films width to its height

birds eye (shot)

a shot taken from an extremely high angle

dutch tilt (shot)

a shot that tilts often drastically off the standard horizontal and or vertical axes. dutch angles are commonly used to express abnormal states of mind also see canted angle shot

eye level shot

a shot taken from the height of an average human being so the camera appears to be looking straight at the characters or the objects being filmed

high angle shot

a shot taken from a camera that is positioned much higher that the subject being filmed so that the effect is that of looking down on the subject

low angle (shot)

a shot taken from a camera that is positioned much lower that the subject being filmed so that the effect is that of looking up at the subject

long shot

a shot in which the camera appears to fairly far away from the subject being filmed though special lenses can create the impression of great distance where much less distance exists

medium shot

a shot taken from a medium distance from a person or object; with a person, it is from the waist up

full shot

a shot that includes the entire human body from head to toe, with little space above the head and below the feet

three quarter shot

a shot taken from a distance that reveals the human body from the head to just below the knees

two shot

a shot in which two people appear, usually in medium distance or close

three shot

a shot in which three people dominate the image (framed as a distinct group

pov (point of view shot)

a particular type of shot that suggests that the camera is recording exactly what a character is seeing at that moment, pov shots are not approximations of a character positions they aren't from the general vicinity of a characters but rather from the precise position of that characters eyes. subjective

tracking shot

a mobile framing shot in which the camera moves forward backward or laterally

dolly

see tracking shot

pan

a camera movement achieved by pivoting the camera on its horizontal axis or from side to side

tilt

a camera movement achieved by pivoting the camera on vertical axis or up and down with the camera remaining stationary on the ground