Camera Angles, Shots and Movements

Camera angles and shots are extremely important, they help add to the atmosphere and mood to a film if executed well and can make a film ten times more interesting to watch.  There are many types of camera angles, shots and movements, and in this blog post I will talk about them.

Camera Angles

A camera angle is the positioning of the camera in relation to the subject you are filming, it could be at an angle where its looking straight at the object being filmed - at eye level, at a low angle looking up on the subject, a high angle looking down on the subject or a canted angle, making a show appear to be skewed or tilted.

• Low angles: These angles can have a metaphorical meaning, for example the low angle looking up at a subject may be used to make the object (or person) seem important, powerful and dominant, as if the angle is filmed in our own point of view or so that we can see the point of view of a character, looking up at the other. In some cases this can make the audience dislike the 'powerful' character as we feel they look down on the others, it can be the filmers technique of displaying arrogance.

• High Angles: A higher angle can be used in the same way, to look down on an object or person making them seem small and more vulnerable, perhaps making the audience feel sorry for them. 

• Canted Angles: these are originally Dutch, the horizon line of the shot isn't parallel to the bottom of the camera frame. Fitting with its 'awkward' nature, its used to portray discomfort, tension or uneasiness in the situation being acted out - the storyline for the objects being filmed. It can also portray something new and interesting or a concept that maybe people aren't used to in order to emphasise how it's different - for example a scene showing something cultural. This type of shot can also bring beauty, for example the filming of a sunset horizon above an ocean, as it makes the shot more abstract and interesting and fits more of the setting into the frame making it more attractive. This can entice the viewer. 

Camera Shots

Essentially, a camera shot is what is captured in the frame and how it is captured. There are many different types of shots that help to capture the story and how the characters feel, aswell as add to the mood of what the audience are meant to feel - for example tension or sadness.

• Close Up: When filming a person it often means showing the head and shoulders in order to show their expressions and emotions as it blurs out the background and the main and only focus is on that character.  It can also be of an object in which case again it would take up most of the frame and would be used in order to either reveal detail or add to the storyline - for example a sign.

• Extreme Close Up: This is a shot where part of the characters face or body fills the entire frame and  dominates it. This can be used to show intense emotion for example an angry character clenching his fist or a sad one crying. Object wise it could be where a small part of it fills the entire frame for example a certain word on a sign or part of a necklace.

• Establishing Shot: This shot is, like in the name, a shot that establishes a scene, setting it and giving the viewer an idea and information about where the scene is set. It could be over the hills in a country side or a shot coming in from the middle of the road in a city, it could even be a sign post. Its often used at the beginning of the scene.

•  Aerial Shot: This is a camera shot taken from an overhead position, it can be used as an establishing shot to set the scene for the movie.

• Medium Shot: This is the framing of a person from the waist upwards, it reveals some of the back ground . It shows some parts of the subject in detail but also shows enough for the audience to feel like they were looking at the whole subject and still see enough facial expression and emotion, because in reality when we talk to people we don't pay attention to the lower half of their body. 

• Two Shot: This is a shot of two characters in a medium shot style. These are good for capturing the relationship between two people and their dialogue. It is often used to establish a relationship

• Point-Of-View Shot: This shows the view from a character or subjects perspective, usually the shot is edited so the viewer is aware of who's point of view its in. 

• Over the shoulder shot: This is looking over the characters shoulder at a subject or object. The shoulder usually occupies about 1/3 of the shot and is slightly blurred due to the depth of field, but this depends on the meaning the director wishes to create; If a subject is inferior, the shoulder may take up more space. The shot is used to establish position.

• Overhead Shot: This is where the camera is positioned above the character or object being filmed, looking down at it.

• Reaction Shot: This is usually a full face shot solely aimed at showing the reaction of the character to another event or the actions of another character.

Camera Movements

camera movement isn't about the angle of the shot, its about the direction and ways in which the cameras move and ill be listing and defining some of them below.

• Pan: In a pan shot the camera pivots horizontally from either left to right or right to left to reveal a setting. This is used to give the viewer a panoramic view and its usually used to establish a scene.

• Tilt: This camera movement is similar to the 'pan' its only difference is that rather than horizontally moving from left to right it moves vertically; from high to low, vise versa.

• Track: This is a shot where the camera follows a subject or object. It can include smooth movements forwards, backwards, along the side of a subject or on a steady curve. It doesn't involve complex movement. In order to film this and give a smooth effect, the camera is put on a track that can move upward, downward and side to side.

• Crane: A crane shot is achieved by a camera being put onto a crane that can move upward and downward. it can be used to signify the beginning or end of a scene.

• Zoom: This movement is achieved by using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer or further away to and from the subject when in fact the camera itself isn't actually moving closer. This can be used for dramatic effect. The picture below shows the before and after effect of zooming into something.