Cinematography and shot types

What are shot types

  • shots are defined by their size

  • shots defined by the number of people in them

  • shots defined by their function

  • shots defined by the angle

  • shots defined by their focus

  • shots defined by their movement

shot sizes

  • ELS — extreme long shot

    • establishes a vast scale, showing the environment as more dominant than any characters

    • characters are small and distant emphasising their insignificance or struggle against their surroundings

  • LS — long shot

  • FS — full shot

  • WS/LS — Wide/long shot

    • shows the entire subject from head to toe, placing them clearly within their environment

    • balances the visibility of the subject’s body language with a clear sense of their surroundings

    • good for estabilishing shots

  • MFS — medium full shot

    • frames a character or a group from approximately the knees up, showing their body language and posture

    • ideal for showing character interactions with their immediate environment and with other characters

    • provides context for action while still keeping the subject clear and identifiable, common in walk-and-talk scenes

  • MS — medium shot

    • more objective than ECU and CU

    • includes more of the character’s body but close enough to show facial emotions as well

    • good for dialogue scenes as it allows to include more characters in the shot

  • MCU — medium close up

  • CU — close up

    • a landmark of the cinematic art form

    • creates intimacy

    • our eyes are drawn to the character’s face and especially their eyes

    • builds characters and allows viewers to bond with the characters

  • ECU — extreme close up

    • subjective

    • should be used with care

    • useful for adding effect or emphasis certain details

number of people in a shot

  • single (clean or dirty)

  • two shot

  • three shot

  • four shot (group shot)

function

  • establishing shot

    • typically at the beginning of a scene that establishes the location and context for the action that follows

  • cutaway

    • a shot that cuts away from the main action to show related imagery, often to provide contect

  • over the shoulder

  • point of view

angles

  • EL — eye level

  • HA — high angle

  • LA — low angle

  • DA — dutch angle/tilt

  • OTS — over the shoulder

  • POV — point of view

  • BEV — bird’s eye view

  • WEV — worm’s eye view

  • OH — overhead

  • GL — Ground Level

  • HL — hip level

  • KL — knee level

  • SL — shoulder level

focus

  • deep focus

  • shallow focus

  • rack focus

movement

  • static

  • pan

  • tilt

  • dolly

  • crane/boom/jib

    • shot taken by a camera on a moving crane or jib

  • handheld

  • zoom

  • steadicam

  • drone

  • tracking/following shot

    • a shot in which the camera physically moves through space, often following a subject or exploring an environment