Camera angles

When filming there are 3 main camera angles to consider:

1. The framing and length of the shot
2. The angle of the shot
3. Is there any movement involved

Another thing to consider is of course how far away the subject is from the camera. This can determine the shot, angle and the way the camera will need to move in order to make the supposed clip effective to the audience. A change between two shots is called a CUT SHOT.

Camera Shots


Extreme Long Shot

This shot can be taken from anything up to a quarter of a mile away. This shot is usually used to show the audience a scene-setting. It is normally used to show an exterior. For example, a building or landscape.

This shot will work most effectively with certain genres of film. An action or thriller film could be used as an example, this is because rather than giving specific detail to an individual subject, it focuses on the general impression of the scene being filmed.





Long shot This shot is mainly used to show an entirity of a subject or in a 'life size' matter. It also corresponds with the audience and the cinema screen, in terms of the size the viewer is able to see. This shot is normally includes a full shot, with the entire screen showing the human body. With the head near the top of the frame and the feet at the bottom. Whilst the main focus is of course the character there is still a lot of attention to the background detail.

To the left, we can see the person in the shot is the main focus, and can see their entire body. Yet we can see that he is also playing golf and is situated on a golfing course.

 

Medium Shot Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Variations on this include the TWO SHOT (containing two figures from the waist up).  Background detail is minimal, probably because location has been shown earlier in the scene,the audience already know where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character interation.

                                     

Close-Up This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of mise en scène. Everything else is just a blur in the background. This shot magnifies the object  and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on someone's face. The close-up takes the audience into the mind of a character. In reality, we only let people that we really trust get that close to our face i.e mothers, children and lovers. So a close up of a face is a very intimate shot. A film maker may use this to make us feel extra comfortable or extremely uncomfortable about a character, and usually uses a zoom lens in order to get the required framing.

                          

Extreme Close-Up An extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality. An extreme close-up of a face,would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever. This is a very artificial shot, and can be used for dramatic effect. The tight focus required means that extra care must be taken when setting up and lighting the shot - the slightest camera shake or error in focal length is very noticeable.

Camera Angles:

The Bird's-Eye view: This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

High Angle: Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.

Eye Level: A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

 

Low Angle: These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

Oblique/Canted Angle: Sometimes the camera is tilted,i.e is not placed horizontal to floor level, to suggest imbalance, transition and instability it is very popular in horror movies. This technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots,ie when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular character,seeing what they see a hand held camera is often used for this.

Camera Movement

Pans

A movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod, which operates as a stationary axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is kept in the middle of the frame.

TiltsA movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

Dolly Shots

For this shot the camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane. A dolly shot may be a good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.

Hand-held shots

The hand-held movie camera, commonly used in news reports. This aesthetic took a while to catch on with mainstream Hollywood, as it gives a jerky, ragged effect, totally at odds with the organised smoothness of a dolly shot. Hand held cameras denote a certain kind of gritty realism, and they can make the audience feel as though they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen position.

Crane ShotsBasically, dolly-shots-in-the-air. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.

Zoom Lenses

A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the magnification of an image. On a still camera, this means that the photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still being some distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the position of the audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus saving a lot of time and trouble. The drawbacks to zoom use include the fact that while a dolly shot involves a steady movement similar to the focusing change in the human eye, the zoom lens tends to be jerky (unless used very slowly) and to distort an image, making objects appear closer together than they really are. Zoom lenses are also drastically over-used by many directors (including those holding palmcorders), who try to give the impression of movement and excitement in a scene where it does not exist.

The Aerial Shot

An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually taken from a helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and exhilaration - so long as you don't need to get too close to your actors or use location sound with the shots.