Camera Angles

Long shot


This shot shows everything almost ‘life’ size and will show the entire human body head to toe. But also ou will see the detail in the background. Or and extreme long shot would be to establish setting rather than characters in the setting.

Medium shot

This shot shows about half of someone from about the waist up and is used for dialogue scenes mainly or to show details of an action. There is less background detail as the focus would be on the character.

Close- up

This shot concentrates on a specific character or detail or misé en scene and will have a blured background. This shot magnifies the subject and focusses on the important things. The extreme close-up would magnify even more and be just an eye or a very small detail.

Birds-eye view

This is a shot from directly above, it can put the audience in a 'god-like' position looking down on things and making them look almost insignificant. It can also establish setting.

High angle

This is a shot where the camera is high. It can make people look shorter and less significant almost like a less extreme version of birds-eye view. Everything becomes part of a wider picture.

Establishing Shot


This shot established setting and/or character. IT establishes the surrounding and sets the scene.

Low angle

This is a shot where the camera is lower than the subject looking up on it. Can make shorter people look bigger and make them look more important and almost scary. It makes the audience look up to the subject or be intimidated by it.