Types of Camera Shots and Examples

Camera Shots

There are many different camera shots but these are the six main types:

• Close-up: this is a shot which tightly frames the object in frame by keeping only their full face or head and shoulders in frame. This type of shot enables the audience to understand the actor's emotions so that they can come to comprehend what they feel like and why.
  

• Medium shot: this type of shot is shot from a medium distance away from the subject(s). A medium shot shows characters or a character from the waist up, enabling the audience to see the character's faces clearly as well as their interaction with other characters.
  

• Tracking shot: where the camera moves alongside, in front of or behind the subject(s) which it is recording. This type of shot gives the audience a comprehensive understanding of what is going on in the scene by showing the character's movement.
  

• Pan: where the camera moves continuously right to left or vice versa and it can be used to establish where the scene is taking place, showing the audience where the characters are situated.
  

• Wide shot: this is sometimes referred to as a long shot and it is used to show the entire subject(s) in the frame. Normally the intention of this type of shot is to place it in some relation to its surroundings. A wide shot has a similar effect as a pan shot which is that it shows the audience where the characters are located and the immediate environment around them.

Examples

Close-up:  In the film 'Psycho' during the shower scene many close-ups are shown which can be seen in this video-

Medium shot: This type of shot is very common to many films but here is just one example from the film 'Blades of Glory'-

Tracking shot:
in the opening scene of 'Spectre' a tacking shot is used which can be viewed here-

Pan: a good example of this kind of shot is on 'Blow Out' when the camera does a 360 degree pan in Jack Terry's (played by John Travolta) office-

Wide Shot: during the film 'Hanna' when she enters the desert the camera zooms out to a wide shot to show the setting-

'Children of Men' Car Scene

This scene from 'Children of Men' begins with the camera panning out to show the audience each of the different characters in the car. At first they are joking around with each other and laughing. For example during the medium shot of the couple playing the ball game they are both laughing and smiling, demonstrating that they are having a good time. However the wide shot which follows this shows a completely different atmosphere. This wide shot shows the camera looking out at the car windscreen and the audience is able to see that a car, which has been set on fire, is rolling down a road, about to block off the road for the characters' car. However this wide shot not only shows the audience the setting, it also foreshadows the unfortunate events about to come by placing the car on fire- symbolising wreckage and chaos- in an idyllic and calm setting.

This shot is a medium close-up of the couple when they are playing a ball game with one another. Here you can see that they are laughing and having fun, demonstrating that they are enjoying themselves. The man has a wide, open smile spread across his face as he laughs which shows the audience that he is having a pleasurable time. But this delight is soon destroyed when they are attacked by an angry crowd of people. In just minutes the characters go from joyful to distraught when Julian is shot, demonstrating to the audience how quickly happiness can disappear.

Here the audience is able to clearly see what exactly the  main characters seem to have encountered. This wide shot shows the audience what is happening at this point and they are able to see that the main characters have been attacked by a infuriated mob of people. They run after their car and try to attack it by hitting it with baseball bats and smashing the car windows. From this the audience can see that the main characters have ran into a scene of compete havoc and destruction and are desperately trying to flee the scene.

This shot is taken from just seconds after Julian has been shot. it is a close-up of the car windscreen shattering which adds to the drama of this moment in the scene. This is because Julian has just been shot which is incredibly dramatic as it has a powerful effect on the reader, which is that they are left shocked and stunned by this shooting as they did not expect it. Due to the peaceful and serene setting before this incident the audience was led on to believing that everything was going to be alright. So when things turn out horribly wrong the audience is severely shocked. Furthermore the shattering of the car windscreen could symbolise the death of Julian; when it becomes broken and essentially dies, like Julian. Once more this reinforces the drama of this event by placing an emphasis on just how damaging this event has been.

From completing this task I learnt the basics of cinematography and how to interpret the effects of different camera shots. The main thing that I have taken from this assignment is the definition of basic camera shots and what effect they have on the audience. However, by using the example of 'The Children of Men' car scene I have also learnt how to analyse the effects of different shot types more deeply, improving my knowledge of different camera shots.