BASIC CAMERA SHOT TYPES
Extreme Wide Shots (EWS) act to establish the area.
Wide Shots (WS) show the entire person or area. They’re great for establishing the scene and allow for good action of the characters. Sometimes this is known as the long shot.
Medium Shots (MS) frame the subject from the waste up. This is the most common shot and allows for hand gestures and motion.
Medium Close Ups (MCU) shots show the subject in more detail and are often framed from just below the shoulders to the top of the head.
Close Ups (CU) show a particular part of your subject. For people this usually means the shot frames just the head!
Extreme Close Ups (ECU) are much tighter close-up shots in which you get detail greater than the human eye might be able to normally perceive. An example of this shot might be of the mouth and eyes together
Advanced Camera Shot TypesTwo Shot: This is a shot of two peoples (or other individuals) together.
Cut Away (CA): Cutaways are used in the editing process to fill in footage which is different from the main action. B-roll is often used for cut-aways. An example might be a cut away of a bird singing if the shot is focused on a couple in the woods.
Over the Shoulder Shots (OSS) are shot from behind the person towards their subject. Generally the frame is cut off just behind the ear, although there are several variations. A good technique to use to get this shot is to frame the person facing the subject with about one third of the frame.
Point of View (POV): This is an effective shot that gives the audience the feel that you’re seeing it from the eyes of the performer. It is taken from near the eye-level of the actor and shows what he might see. It could be used to give the perspective of other animals too like a frog, a bird, or a fish.
