Coursework Research - Camera shots and angles

Camera shots and angles and their effect on film making

Camera shots

Extreme Long Shot 

Extreme long shot lengths are used as a scene setting, establishing shot, they usually show the exterior of a building or a landscape.

Long Shot

Long length shots usually feature the image as life size rather than larger than life. These shots are focused on the characters but plenty of background detail is still visible. 

Medium Shot

Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. 

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. 

Extreme Close up 

An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever.

Camera Angles

The Bird's-Eye view

This shows a scene from directly overhead. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first.

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.

Eye Level

A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene.

Low Angle

These  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.

Oblique Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted to suggest imbalance, transition and instability 

The effect of camera angles and shots on storytelling 

Different camera angles can add and induce different meanings and level of engagement for the audience. Camera angle for each shot can add moods to the scene and create powerful relationships between the audience and character, the same for camera shots. For example the distance between the camera and the subject define relationship and importance between the character and the scene.

3 film openings where a specific camera shot/angle has been used to excellent effect

In the film opening to 2010's release "Submarine" several different camera shots and angles were used to introduce the character and setting. Middle length shots are used to introduce us to the setting of his bedroom,show us where he lives. and long shots/extreme long shots to  we are then introduced to the main character "Oliver Tate" using middle and close up shots. I think the mixture of these shots, has been used to create excellent effect because the face he was slightly out of focus in the close up shot and the mix of long shots makes the character seem distant and closed off.

The film opening to "The breakfast club" released in 1985 used a large variety of camera shots and angles, varying from extreme long shot to extreme close up. These angles and shots are used to introduce us to the characters, the atmosphere of the school and its location. I think this is a good use of camera angles and shots to introduce the film to the views.




 In 2009's release of the hangover, multiple camera angles and shots are used, mainly middle and long shots are used to introduce the characters and the setting, there are no close up shots

Shorter shot lengths can change the effect on the viewer, Shorter shots show very little background and it usually concentrates on a face or specific detail of mise-en-scene. Most of the detail in the background is out of focus bringing our attention to items in the foreground, like an expression. Having a close up shot of someones face makes us either feel extra comfortable with a character or extremely uncomfortable. Extreme close ups include just the eyes or mouth, tight focus is required and these shots are very hard to film as a slight camera shake or error in focal length is noticeable.

Long shot lengths have a certain effect on the viewer or the film in summary. Long length shots usually feature the image as life size rather than larger than life. These shots are focused on the characters but plenty of background detail is still visible. Extreme long shot lengths are generally used as a scene setting, establishing shot, they usually show the exterior of a building or a landscape, sometimes used to show scenes of thrilling warfare, there is very little detail in the shot, it gives a general impression rather than specific information. In short, long shot lengths are designed to show the detail and set the scene even a character depending on the type of the shot.

ML