Camera Lesson with Adam- Different shots

Camera Lesson with Adam- Differnt shots

During this lesson we were introduced to the different types of camera shots used during a scene.

There are 12 shot sizes which we learnt:

• Big close-up (BCU)
• Mid shot
• Wide shot
• Point of view
• Close up shot
• Medium shot
• Over the shoulder shot
• High angle
• Medium close-up
• Long shot
• Two shot, three shot
• Low angle

We focused on some of the main shots in detail:

Wide shot

This can also be called the establishing shot. This can be used to establish the location, set the scene and atmosphere. The wide shot is often used at the beginning and the end of the scene.

Big close up shot

This shot mainly focuses on the head or part of the head and used to show emotion and detail.

Over the shoulder shot

The shot allows the audience to see what the character is seeing. This shot is often used to suggest someone is being flowed or watched by an unseen person.

Long shot

This contains a shot of the full figure in their location. This shot can often be used to distance the audience from events or suggest loneliness or isolation.

During the lesson we were given the example to examine called ‘Pleasantville’. Throughout this scene there are many different examples of different shots. At the beginning there is a wide shot which shows the location and allows the audience to see that Pleasantville is set in an American high school environment. Then there are two mid shots edited together with the boys head slightly on the right and the first head slightly on the left. This creates a conversation taking place. The choice of cleaver camera shots creates a conversation, which isn’t really taking place. At the end of the scene we watched there is a wide shot used to show the boys isolation.