Camera Angles and Editing

FoDefinitions of Camera Shots

Long shot: Shows the whole image, for example it would show a whole person, and not just their face or another part of their body.

Medium shot: If it was a person, then this would only show from the waist up. So it is only half the object.

Close up: This is where you focus on one part of the image, so basically it could just be of someone's face.

Shot reverse shot: This is where one character is shown looking at another character who would be off screen, and then it going to the other character looking back at the first original character.

High angle shots: This is where the camera is located high so it is looking down on the object in focus.

Low angle shots: This is where the camera is locarted low, and then it would be looking up to the object in focus.

Tracking shot: This is where the camera is placed on a track and then is moving but watching where it goes. For example, a bit like when you look out of your car window whilst in motion.

Pan: This is the horizontal motion of the camera moving. So for example, if someone was looking over some fields. They would start facung the left but after looking all around they would end on the right.

Tilt: A tilt shot is where the camera is only slightly looking up or down at the object in focus.

Definition of styles of Editing

Continuity: This is the consistency in a film or tv programme of characters and plot etc. For example if in an episode of eastenders, they cut between two scenes. Both in the same place but in one scene it was raining, but the other was not. When they are in the same place and at the same time. This would be bad continuity. Good continiuity would be if the weatehr was the same in both places.

Montage: This consists of a sequence of shots that are put together to condence narrative.

Transitions: A transisiton is how you get to one clipm to the other. This is where you must be careful on the continuity that you use. Wipes is a type of this.

Cross cutting/paralell editing: A technique used in which shots of two or more separate, usually concurrent scenes in interwoven.

Dissolve: Is gradual transition to one image to another.