Shot types and Camera angles

Shot types

Extreme long shot- This is a shot that is taken very far away from the actual image, and is usually used as a scene-setting, establishing shot.  It normally shows an exterior, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie. 

Long shot- This shows the image as approximately life size ie corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema. For example a women appearing 5 ft tall.

Median shot- This is a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for speaking scenes. Variations on this include the two shot (containing two figures) and the 3 shot (contains 3 figures). Another variation is the over the shoulder shot (as shown on the right). 

Close-up- This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail in the scene. Everything else is just a blur in the background. A film-maker may use this to make us feel extra comfortable or extremely uncomfortable about a character.

Extreme close-up- An extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality. An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever. Directors will use this for dramatic effect.

Camera Angles

Birds eye view- This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognizable at first. This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action.

High angle- Here the camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). 

Eye level- Here the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus.

Low angle- These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) . Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling.

Oblique/Canted angle- Sometimes the camera is tilted , to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies). This technique is used to suggest point of view shots