Camera Shots and Angles

Camera Shots

Aerial Shot
An exterior shot filmed from the air, often used to establish a location.

Arc Shot
A shot in which the subject is circled by the camera.

Bridging Shot
A shot that denotes a shift in time or place, like a line moving across an animated map.

Close Up
A shot keeping only the face in the frame and nothing else.

Medium Shot
The shot that utilises the most common framing in movies, shows less than a long shot but more than a close up.

Long Shot
A shot that depicts an entire character or object from head to foot.

Dolly Zoom
A shot that sees the camera track forward towards the subject.

Low Angle Shot

A shot looking up at a character or subject, making them look bigger in the frame, making them also look heroic or the dominant character

High Angle Shot

A shot looking down on a character or subject often isolating them in the frame, making them look vulnerable.

Over Shoulder Shot

Shot over the shoulder of someone else whilst the other person talks, this creates the illusion of conversation.

Camera Angles

Birds Eye View

Shows a scene directly overhead, from the Point of View as a bird.  The shot puts the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. The shot below is a birds eye view from the film 'American Beauty'.

High Angle

The camera is elevated above the action to give a general overview. A high angle has been used in the image below from 'Matilda'. This is to show she is scared and vulnerable as she is just a child.

Eye Level

The camera is positioned at eye level, observing scene so that the actor’s heads are on a level with the focus. The angle below is at eye level, from the film 'The Apartment'.

Low Angle

This angle increases height and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action scene. The image below, again from 'Matilda' is at a low angle, this is to show Matilda's perspective and also to give the woman the power.

Dutch Tilt

Sometimes the camera is tilted to suggest imbalance, transition and instability. The image below is from 'Rules of Attraction' and creates a dynamic composition due to the dutch tilt.

Point of View

A point of view shot is used in a film for the audience to see what the character is seeing. It incorporates a characters eyes. the image below is a point of view shot from 'The Kings Speech'