Welcome back!
Last week I had a lesson on Camera Shots, which I recently learned isn’t just the way you take a picture, instead I learned about what differentiates them based on the way they are taken, what is in the shot, and what it portrays. I had the chance to go around my school and take visual representations so I can show what I learned about each type of shot. There will be two blogs dedicated to these Camera Shots, I will explain what each shot represents or portrays and explain what the certain shot is used for.
Below is a list of the shots I will mention in this blog:
- Establishing shot
- Master shot
- close-up shot and extreme close-up
- mid shot
- long shot
Visuals of each shot:
Establishing shot
- An establishing shot is usually seen as the first shot of the first scene you see in a film. It’s called an “establishing” shot because it’s meant to establish the location or environment of the science that will commence right after the establishing shot. This shot can give general information just giving the audience visual clues regarding time or just the general situation. Not only can it have a visual effect, it can also have an emotional effect. It can establish the mood of the film based off of what the shot consists of, which can in turn, establish the tone it gives off to the audience. For example, if the shot starts off with a chaotic birthing scene, then the established mood that the film starts off with is chaotic and the audience will start off in constant suspense. In regards to this picture I took here, you can see the “scene” is established outside during the day while the sun is at its brightest. You can probably assume that this takes place in a public place, maybe a school, because of the particular blue benches being seen all throughout the shot.
Master Shot
- The Master Shot can be confused with establishing shot because it somewhat is but it technically isn’t in the same time. This shot is shown typically after the establishing shot, the difference is that the establishing shot focuses more on location while the master shot focuses on capturing the actors acting throughout a whole scene. A master shot can have other shots woven in seamlessly because it’s the first fully filmed scene. While the establishing shot introduces the location, date or time, a master shot introduces characters and their actions. Referring to the photo provided above, this would be defined as a master shot because it introduces characters in “action” as the first scene in action. Excusing the fact that this is only a shot and not a fully filmed scene, you can assume the characters are arguing or expressing a strong emotion based on their hand gestures and facial expressions. From here you would be judge each character as a first impression based off of how they act and speak in the first scene.
Close- Up Shot
- A close- up shot is focused mostly on emitting the characters emotions, it not only shows us how the character feels, it also drives us to feel that way as well. The denotation of a close-up shot is that the characters face or an object is meant to fill most of the screen or be at close range. This shot is mostly about emotion, what it makes the audience feel and what the character feels. It can create a relationship between the character and its audience through empathy because the only thing you’re focusing on is what is being shown in the close-up shot. For example, the picture provided above shows a girl who seems confused, surprised, scared, or nervous. As the “audience”, seeing this shot makes the scene suspenseful because I don’t know what is making her emote in that way. This close-up shot makes me feel connected to the character because I’m invested and I want to know more about what is happening or what will happen.
Extreme Close-Up Shot
- The difference between a Close-Up Shot and an Extreme Close-Up shot its focus and what it emphasizes. In a Close-Up Shot it focuses on the character’s full face or object so it appears relatively large and in detail to emphasize its emotion, in an Extreme Close-Up Shot it’s focus is to emphasize a small area or detail like the characters mouth or eyes. This not only separates good actors from great actors based on whether or not they can show emotion only using their eyes or mouth, this can clearly emphasize what the character is feeling deep inside because “the eyes are the windows to the soul” so you can see what the character is actually feeling inside.
Mid Shot
- A Mid Shot is taken from about the waist up. This is supposed to focus on the character in its environment. Its purpose is to show how the character acts in its environment, this shot is to emphasize the character as well as what is around them, it’s also mostly used for dialogue. In the picture above, you can assume the boy in in school or in a public building based on his environment therefore you can assume his behavior, speech, and outerwear based off his environment. This can also connect the audience with the character because the mid shot makes it seem like you’re part of the scene since it’s taken from the waist up.
Long Shot
- Long Shots shows the character from top to bottom or from head to toe. There is still some scenery behind the character but the character is supposed to be the main focus. This is to see how the character acts in full body scenes by focusing on their body language more than their facial expressions. This is also to see how the character reacts to its environment and/or people around them. Using the picture above as an example, this long shot shows that this girl is tying her shoe on a ledge in a public building or school. Since this shot shows her full body, you can base her environment off of her clothes alone.
*All photos are original excluding the graphic in the beginning.
That’s all for today, I will mention the rest in my next blog!
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