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Shot Types

The following is a video shot and edited by two friends and myself, it shows the types of shots which are commonly used in film and various other types of productions and explains how they are effective for the audience.

 

  • Close Up

  • Mid Shot

  • Long Shot

  • Establishing Shots

  • Panning Shots

  • Tilt  Shots

  • High Angle Shots

  • Low Angle Shots

  • Aerial shot

  • Crane Shots

  • Dutch Tilt

  • Zoom

  • Over the Shoulder Shots

  • Point of View

 

Favourite Shots types

The following is a list of my favourite shots shown in various films and why I think they are effective:

aerial shots

Aerial Shots are a type of shot taken from a high vantage point. They are normally used as an establishing shot to a scene and they are used in order to immerse the audience into the scene. Aerial shots can be taken from different aircraft such as helicopters etc. The following are clips are scenes from The Lord of the Rings trilogy shot in New Zealand. Helicopters were used in the scenes in order to capture the vast landscapes of New Zealand and was later edited to create small amounts of GCI in order to create impressive and large scale scenes for the films. These shots are very effective as it helps to immerse the audience in the setting or landscape of a film, they also give a sequence a sense of spectacle and scale.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOomDInRR1o

POV Shots

Point of View shots are a commonly used shot in film in order to immerse viewers into the action of a scene. Point of view shots show the view that a main subject is seeing. A Point of View shot in a film is usually restricted to one character in order to avoid confusion between characters for the audience. POV shots in films have the potential to be very effective as they help to place the audience in the position of the character, this helps to make a sequence more tense and immersive. The following is a montage of Point of View shots from various films: 

 

https://vimeo.com/112167948

 

 

 

 

Dutch Tilt

The dutch tilt is a type of camera shot where the camera is rotating on an axis as it focuses on a character or object. The dutch tilt can be very effective in cinematography as it can be used order to emphasise tension, distortion or confusion to the audience. The following is a video showing different dutch tilts in various films:

 

https://vimeo.com/138044491

 

 

Video Credit

  • Greg Bright - Video Editor, Camera Focus, Camera man

  • Ben Molyneux - Video Focus

  • Liam Pym - Camera Focus, Camera man

Crane shots

A crane shot is a commonly used method of filmmaking where a camera is mounted to a crane/ jib. Crane shots are normally used to pan along with a character or across a scene. Similarly to establishing and Aerial shots, Crane shots can be used effectively in order to show off a location or set to the audience. Crane jibs are commonly placed on a variety of different setups such as on the back of vehicles if the scene involves a fast moving etc. The following is a video showing different crane shots in various films:

 

https://vimeo.com/12263124

 

Bibliography and Research:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_shot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Establishing_shot

http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-styles/

http://www.movingimageeducation.org/resources/films/the-sandman/editing/conventions/point-of-view-shot

http://www.elementsofcinema.com/cinematography/camera-angles-and-composition/

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/over-shoulder.html

 

 

 

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