Camera Angles And Editing

Camera Angles

Long Shot
Shows the entire object or human body. The main focus is on the characters or the object but there should still be a good deal of background shown.

Medium Shot
Usually shows the object or characters from the waist up. It us used to show some sort of action taking place or some dialogue. The background detail is usually minimal because the setting is most likely to have been established earlier on in the scene.

Close Up
Focus is often on the face or a specific detail on the object. Background detail is kept to a minimum. Normally used to show the importance of something, almost like a hint to the audience.

Shot Reverse Shot
When one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

High Angle Shot
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.

Low Angle Shot
These increase height 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.

Tracking Shot
Camera is placed on a moving vehicle, which enables it to move alongside the action.

Pan
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.

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


Continuity
This is the consistency in a film or tv programme of characters and plot etc. For example if in an episode of eastenders, they cut between two scenes. Both in the same place but in one scene it was raining, but the other was not. When they are in the same place and at the same time. This would be bad continuity. Good continiuity would be if the weather was the same in both places.

Montage
This consists of a sequence of shots that are put together to condence narrative.

Transitions
A transition is how you get one clip to the other. You must be careful on the continuity that you use. Wipes is a type of this.

Cross Cutting/Parallel Editing
A technique used in which shots of two or more separate, usually concurrent scenes are interwoven.

Dissolve
A gradual transition from one image to another.

Wipes
A gradual transition between two different shots.