Shot Types

Shot Types🎥

Extreme Long Shot-

An extreme long shot is a view from an even greater distance, in which people appear as small dots in the landscape if at all (eg. a shot of New York's skyline).

Close up-

 A detailed view of a person or object, usually without much context provided. For example; Grey's Anatomy (Season 6 Episode 24) or The Vampire Diaries (Season 6 Episode 19)

Medium Shot-

 A relatively close shot, revealing a moderate amount of detail. A medium shot of a figure generally includes the body from the knees or waist up. This example is taken from the Netflix original, "Orange Is The New Black". This shot is also an example of an 'over the shoulder' shot.

Long Shot-

Includes an amount of picture within the frame which roughly corresponds to the audience's view of the area within the proscenium arch of the legitimate theatre. For example, this shot from Disney's "Frozen", and "Pirates Of The Caribbean".

Mid Shot-

Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject. A mid shot is basically the same as a medium shot, so to see an example of this, check the medium shot example.

Wide Shot-

The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible. An example of this is Gossip Girl - Season 6 Episode 10.

Two Shot-

A medium shot, featuring two actors. This is very frequent in the tv show, "The Vampire Diaries". 

Aerial Shot-

A shot taken from an airborne device, generally while moving. Backlighting (lighting design) The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouetting it, and directed toward the camera. This example is taken from "The Avengers". The second example is a simple video I found on youtube which shows multiple aerial shots in action.

Point of view shot-

Any shot which is taken from the vantage point of a character in the film. Also known as the first person camera. This first shot example is taken from "Inglorious Bastards", starring Brad Pitt. 

Over the shoulder shot-

A medium shot, useful in dialogue scenes, in which one actor is photographed head-on from over the shoulder of another actor. This first example has been taken from "The Polar Express", a famous animated Christmas movie starring the voice of Tom Hanks. The second shot example is from "Harry Potter, The Deathly Hallows", and the third shot example is from "Mean Girls".