ISL Week 1

Glossary of terms – Week 1 ISL work

 

Camera shots

 

Mid shot – Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

 

Medium close up – Half way between a mid-shot and a close up.

 

Close up – A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

 

Extreme close up – This shot gets right in and shows extreme detail.

 

Two shot – A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid-shot.

 

Over the shoulder shot – A shot looking from behind a person at the subject.

 

Noddy shot – Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

 

Point of view shot – This shows a view from the subject’s perspective.

 

Extreme long shot – The view is so far from the subject that the subject isn’t visible. Often used as an established shot.

 

Very long shot – The subject is barely visible, used to show environment around the subject.

 

Long shot – The subject takes up the full frame or as much as comfortably possible.

 

Camera angles

 

Eye-level – The most common angle, being the real-world angle that everyone is used to. It shows the subject as we would expect to see them in real life.

 

High angle – A high angle shot shows the subject from above. This has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful.

 

Low angle – This shows the subject from below, giving them the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

 

Bird’s eye – The scene is shown from directly above. This is completely different and somewhat unnatural point of view which can be used for dramatic effect.

 

Slanted – This is where the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle. This creates an interesting and dramatic effect.

 

Framing and composition

 

Shots are all about composition; rather than pointing the camera at the subject, you need to compose an image. Framing is the process of creating composition and is also what you choose to be in the shot.

 

Rules

 

·         Look for horizontal and vertical lines in the frame; make sure the horizontals are level and the verticals are straight up and down.

·         The rule of thirds; the rule divides the frame into 9 sections. The points of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up or across.

·         The golden mean is when you are composing a shot you should imagine a diagonal line over the top of it; points of interest occur along the line.

 

Composition = where objects are placed/arranged in a shot

 

Basic camera moves

 

Pan – The framing moves left and right with no vertical movement.

 

Tilt – The framing moves up and down with no horizontal movement.