| Shots Wide shot (also known as Establishing Shot or Long Shot)- This shows the whole scene. Frequently you'll see video pieces begin with this shot. Take this shot from afar also you may need to zoom back as far as you can. Example: Haunted house movie you’ll start the scene with a shot of the entire house. Medium Shot This shot shows less of a scene than the wide shot. The camera seems closer to the subject (although it may not be if you use your zoom lens). For example, if you are showing lovers in an embrace, this shot would show them from about the waist up in a medium shot. Use this when you want a closer look at your subject, or when you need to transition between wide shots and close-up shots (it is difficult for the viewer to follow what you are doing if you go straight from a wide shot to a close-up shot). Close Up Shot- This shot shows an even smaller part of the subject or scene. It's great for showing detail, like a person's emotional face or individual leaves on a tree. If you were interviewing someone, this shot would show the person from the top of the chest or shoulders up. An Extreme Close Up Shot is even closer than a Close Up. For example, it is just of the person's eyes, or of a bug gnawing on a leaf. This shot is also used to draw attention to objects that are important to you story. Example: you might show a close up on a butcher knife that your killer is about to use. Over the Shoulder or Cutaway Shot- A cutaway is a shot away from the main action., used in conversation, you cut back and forth between the to people who can be listening, nodding, or responding. This is used a lot in interviews to show the person who's asking the questions. This particular shot is also called "over the shoulder" because the camera man is literally shooting video of one person over the shoulder of the other person. (An over the shoulder shot is a type of cutaway). These are very useful when editing because they give you an easy way to transition. Two Shot/Three Shot - a two shot has two people in the frame. A three shot has three people in the frame. Because you have to be some distance from the people to get them all in the frame, this is usually a medium or wide shot. Shot Movement Pan - A shot taken moving on a horizontal plane (from left to right, right to left). If you want to show a frisbee flying across a field, you might use this shot to follow the frisbee from one person to another. Tilt - Camera movement in a vertical plane. (up or down) If you want to show a tall building but you can't get it all in your shot, you might start at the bottom of the building and go up to the top. Zoom - This shot brings you closer to the subject. For example, from a Wide Shot to a Medium Shot or Close Shot. If you are looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, and you want to see individual people walking across it, you might zoom in. Reverse Zoom - This shot moves you farther away from the subject. For example, from a Close Shot to Medium Shot or a Wide Shot. If you have a Close Up shot of a flower, and want to see the entire field that the flower is in, you can reverse zoom |