This is a Clilstore unit. You can link all words to dictionaries.

Promo-view

One of the first things students are taught in film school is the nomenclature of the basic types of camera shots. This common language is essential for writers, directors, camera operators, and cinematographers to effectively communicate visual elements of a shot, particularly the size of a subject—often a person—within the frame. Here there is a list of the essential shot types that you need to know, along with a brief description.

Shots indicating subject size

Generally speaking, we can break this down into three main shot sizes: Long, Medium, and Close. Long shots (also commonly called Wide shots) show the subject from a distance, emphasising place and location, while Close shots reveal details of the subject and highlight emotions of a character. Medium shots fall somewhere in between, putting emphasis on the subject while still showing some of the surrounding environment.

It’s important to note that the following shot types only relate to subject size within the frame, and don’t directly indicate what type of lens is used to capture the scene. The choice of lens—and, thus, the distance of the camera from the subject—remains an artistic decision for the Director and/or Director of Photography. With that in mind, on to the list!

 

Extreme Long Shot (aka Extreme Wide Shot)  Used to show the subject from a distance or the area in which the scene is taking place. This type of shot is particularly useful for establishing a scene (see Establishing Shot later in the article) in terms of time and place, as well as a character’s physical or emotional relationship to the environment and elements within it. The character doesn’t necessarily have to be viewable in this shot.

Extreme Long shot

 

 

Long Shot (aka Wide Shot)  Shows the subject from top to bottom; for a person, this would be head to toes, though not necessarily filling the frame. The character becomes more of a focus than an Extreme Long Shot, but the shot tends to still be dominated by the scenery. This shot often sets the scene and our character’s place in it. This can also serve as an Establishing Shot, in lieu of an Extreme Long Shot.

Long-Shot

 

Full Shot  Frames character from head to toes, with the subject roughly filling the frame. The emphasis tends to be more on action and movement rather than a character’s emotional state.

 

 

Medium Long Shot (aka 3/4 Shot)  Intermediate between Full Shot and Medium Shot. Shows subject from the knees up.

 

 

Cowboy Shot (aka American Shot)  A variation of a Medium Shot, this gets its name from Western films from the 1930s and 1940s, which would frame the subject from mid-thighs up to fit the character’s gun holsters into the shot.

 

 

Medium Shot  Shows part of the subject in more detail. For a person, a medium shot typically frames them from about waist up. This is one of the most common shots seen in films, as it focuses on a character (or characters) in a scene while still showing some environment.

 

 

Medium Close-Up  Falls between a Medium Shot and a Close-Up, generally framing the subject from chest or shoulder up.

 

 

Close-Up Fills the screen with part of the subject, such as a person’s head/face. Framed this tightly, the emotions and reaction of a character dominate the scene.

 

 

Choker  A variant of a Close-Up, this shot frames the subject’s face from above the eyebrows to below the mouth

 

 

Extreme Close Up  Emphasizes a small area or detail of the subject, such as the eye(s) or mouth. An Extreme Close Up of just the eyes is sometimes called an Italian Shot, getting its name from Sergio Leone’s Italian-Western films that popularized it.

 

Here there is a video where the students can see the different kinds of camera shots in a video recorded.

 

After learning how different camera shots work, you are invited to play a simple combination game. You must combine the shot with his corresponding name in the shortest possible time.

Go to: https://quizlet.com/201248902/match

 

FRAMING AND LENSES

Lense

Focal length, usually represented in millimeters (mm), is the basic description of a photographic lens. It is not a measurement of the actual length of a lens, but a calculation of an optical distance from the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image of an object to the digital sensor or 35mm film at the focal plane in the camera. The focal length of a lens is determined when the lens is focused at infinity.

The focal length tells us the angle of view—how much of the scene will be captured—and the magnification—how large individual elements will be. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the higher the magnification. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the lower the magnification.

 
 

Here there is a Gift to explain how different lenses affect to portraits:

via GIPHY

 

Framing

The way you use this limit when framing your pictures can change the sensations that your photos transmit radically, so knowing the secrets of the framing becomes almost an obligation.

What is the framing?

The framing, in photography, alludes to the portion of the scene that as a photographer, you will use for your photographs. That is, what proportion of the scene you are going to capture in a photograph. Imagine the frame as the stage where your photos take place. The framing exerts a great influence on the content of the photo and on the messages and sensations they transmit.
The way you use the edges of the frame to distribute the elements (composing) within it, will give or not strength to your photographs.
In cinema the same happens, the choice of the frame influences of what the director wants to show us.

Let´s see a video where is explained how the Coen brothers use different lenses and kind of frames to achieve their purposes.

 

Hi my name is Tony

and this is Every Frame a Painting

 

The most basic thing we have

in film grammar is probably this:

Shot

Reverse shot

Nearly everything you watch

is going to be

Nearly everything you watch

is going to be filled with it.

 

And most filmmakers seem to use it

as a quick way to record dialogue.

 

Keep the actors still,

use multiple cameras

 

shoot ten takes,

and then make decisions in post.

 

But I think shot | reverse shot is still

powerful when it's done precisely

 

And a good example of that

is the work of Joel & Ethan Coen.

 

-"We thought you was..."

 

-"...a toad."

 

Because the Coens are

masters of the dialogue scene

 

And they’ve done it by

keeping their shots simple but precise

 

-"Can I share something with you?"

 

So today, let’s reconsider

shot | reverse shot.

 

What can we learn from

the way the Coens use it?

 

-"But let me ask you a question..."

 

-"Would an imbecile come up with this?"

 

One of the first things

you notice about the Coens is that

 

they like to film dialogue from

inside the space of the conversation.

 

And that means the camera is

usually in between the two characters

 

so that they each get separate shots.

 

-"Do I make myself clear?"

 

In other words,

they shoot a lot of singles.

 

-"I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening."

 

Other filmmakers, like Paul Greengrass,

prefer the camera behind the characters

 

Usually on a very long lens,

so you feel like you’re spying

 

-"I want to know what happened"

-"What happened?"

 

-"Jason Bourne happened.

You got the files."

 

-"Then let’s cut the crap."

 

The Coens and Roger Deakins

don’t do this.

 

In fact, they film

almost exclusively on wide lenses

 

-"Well I’ve got a very strong feeling

about lenses and personally..."

 

-"...I’m sitting here talking to you and

you’re filming me from over there..."

 

-"...on a shoulder on probably a single.

Where, I’d rarely do that."

 

-"Cause I think, you know, the camera

wants to be..."

 

-"To me,

I would shoot singles inside here."

 

And if you do this, switch to

a wider lens and bring the camera closer

 

it feels like…

 

-"It’s different right? You know,

there’s a sense of presence..."

 

-"You’re right there with somebody,

as opposed to being…"

 

-"...I think psychologically,

it’s a totally different effect so…"

 

But what is the psychological effect?

 

If a long lens feels like you’re spying,

then how does this lens make you feel?

 

-"Look, look, something is very wrong!"

 

-"I don’t want Santana 'Abraxas.'"

 

-"I’ve just been in

a terrible auto accident!"

 

I would say it’s two feelings:

 

kind of uncomfortable…

 

and kind of funny.

 

And it fits.

 

Because the Coens

like to isolate individuals

 

trapping them in situations that

they really have no control over.

And because the lens is right here...

 

-"Now we had a deal here.

A deal’s a deal."

 

-"Is it Jerry? You ask those three poor

souls up in Brainerd if a deal’s a deal"

 

You’re trapped with them.

 

The other effect is visual.

 

The Coens shoot mostly

on a 27mm or 32mm lens

 

and they often push in to exaggerate

some part of an actor’s face.

 

-"Frank Raffo, my brother-in-law,

was the principal barber."

 

-"And man, could he talk."

 

Using wide lenses doesn’t just

exaggerate the face...

 

...it also exaggerates forward camera

movement, like dollying into a close-up.

 

-"Also a sense of action."

 

-"Like if I bring my hand closer or

further from the camera..."

 

-"...the wide-angle lens is going

to have much more effect."

 

-"And even if I’m shifting, like this."

 

-"Maybes don’t make it so."

 

-"It’s going to feel more alive,

more edgy."

 

-"What, are you kidding?

We got us a family here!"

 

But the third effect of

shooting singles this way...

 

...is environmental.

 

Shots like this have a nice balance...

 

...between the character

and everything around her.

 

-"I’d be very surprised

if our suspect was from Brainerd."

 

-"Yah."

 

And it helps us get a quick read

on very minor characters.

 

Think about how well you know this woman

just from her clothes and her workspace.

 

-"We can’t give out no information."

 

But what really distinguishes the Coens

 

...is the rhythm of their editing.

 

-"We depress the stock."

 

-"To the point where we can buy 50%"

-"51."

 

-"Not counting the mezzanine."

 

-"It could work!"

-"It should work!"

 

-"It would work!"

-"It’s working already!"

 

Many people think the rhythm

comes from their dialogue.

 

But the rhythm is actually nonverbal.

 

Sometimes, to feel the rhythm,

you have to see it done badly.

 

This is a film they wrote

but didn’t direct.

 

Watch the awkward pause

between two lines of dialogue.

 

-"Not that I judge."

 

-"How terribly interesting."

 

-"But is there a tournament of some

description with rowdy goings-on?"

 

It just feels "off."

 

Now watch this moment,

directed by them.

 

-"Cigarette?"

 

-"Right."

 

And this rhythm is what underlies

so many of their scenes...

 

and it’s how they find nonverbal moments

that other directors don’t look for.

 

But what do all these choices add up to?

 

I think it creates a particular tone.

 

Because on one level, the Coens

want you to laugh at these people.

 

After all, they use the wide lens

to exaggerate the face

 

and they time the scene for humour.

 

But on another level, the Coens want you

to empathise with these characters.

 

They frame wide enough

so you can see the environment

 

...and they put the lens right

next to people at their lowest point.

 

-"I am dying."

 

-"Do something. Help me!"

 

There's an old saying:

Tragedy is a close-up.

 

Comedy is a long shot.

But for the Coens

those distinctions are jumbled.

 

They play both tragedy and comedy

in intimate singles.

 

-"I miss Mike."

 

And that's the fascinating thing.

 

Because dialogue scenes aren't

just about recording the dialogue.

 

They're also about

the nonverbal behaviour.

 

-"I don’t guess

this means much to you."

 

-"Hell yeah,

I could tell you some stories…"

 

-"And that’s the point!

That we all have stories..."

 

And by placing the camera here,

 

using a wide lens,

and following their particular rhythm

the Coens have found an interesting

approach to the most basic tool.Shot,

Shot, Reverse shot.

Once you have learnt all the different types of camera shot, lenses and how framing influence on the meaning of the picture, in groups of 4 persons, you should tell a story with pictures taken using your mobile phone.  Try to use every kind of shot we have learnt and being aware of framing and lenses. Then you will expose your work in front of the each others.

Here there is a glossary of a camera terms :

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mfobrien/macro/pdfs/terms.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short url:   https://multidict.net/cs/5024