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Wide shot In this sort of shot any people are very small.

It's often used as an 'establishing shot' at the beginning of a film to show us the setting.

It can also make a person look lonely or vulnerable.

(Also known as a 'Very long shot').

Long shot A person can be seen from head to foot.


You can usually see what they're wearing and get an idea of the sort of person they are, but you
can also see what's going on around them and what they are doing.

Mid shot This shows a person from roughly their waist to their head.
Now you can recognise them, but you may also be able to see what they are doing with their
hands.

(Also known as a 'Medium shot')

Medium closeup A medium closeup shows a person from their chest


to their head.

Closeup This show a person's head and shoulders.


You can now see the expression on the face, which helps you to know what they are thinking and
feeling.

Big closeup This shows just the face.


You use this when expressions and emotions are important.

Exploring Language
The "Grammar" of Film and Television

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Grammar provides us with the knowledge and understanding to analyse
and describe how both written and oral language work. Similarly, by
knowing the "grammar" of film, we can explore, identify, learn about,
describe, and use features of visual language that create particular
meanings and effects in moving images in film and television.

Film is not a language in exactly the same way that English is a


language. In a movie, there is nothing that corresponds precisely to a
word, for instance, or a question. Nor is the order of events in a film the
same, or as strictly regulated, as the order of words in a grammatical
sentence. However, it is possible and sometimes helpful to argue that
written language and film are similar in the following ways.

Letters are the smallest distinct A film's smallest unit is a frame,


forms of written language. which is like a still photograph.

Letters make up words in Several frames make up shots in


written language. films.

Words make up sentences in Shots make up scenes.


written language.

Sentences make up paragraphs Scenes make up sequences.


in written language.

Paragraphs make up stories. Sequences make up a film.

The nature and length of sequences in television programmes are often


different from those in feature films because they are segmented for ad
breaks. We discuss segments on page 178 under Conventions of
Narrative.

Writing is often made more interesting and suitable for its purpose by
using a variety of letter forms, words, sentence and paragraph lengths,
and structures. Similarly, variety in the use of frames, shots, scenes, and
sequences usually results in a more interesting and appealing film.

Summary of Terms
filmic terms shots sequences
frame scenes segmented

Next: Composition

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Exploring Language
Composition
Composition is a term used not only in static images but also in film
and television. It includes all the elements that contribute to the
appearance of a frame - the way people and other objects appear and are
related within the frame for dramatic effect in much the same way as in
a still photograph or static image. All the following elements contribute
to the composition of the frames that make up a film.

Different kinds of shot

Shot is a very important ingredient of composition. The term "shot"


refers to the appearance of what is in each frame. This is determined by
how far the camera is placed from the subject or by using an adjustable
lens to achieve the effect of distance. The shot is also determined by the
camera's angle and movement relative to the subject shown in the
frame.

Each shot, like each word in a written text, has a purpose. The choice of
shots is determined by purpose and, therefore, by genre, topic, and
audience. A feature film, for example, uses different shots and also uses
the shots differently from those in a television talk-show.

A wide shot or WS, called a long shot or LS in the American film


industry, shows a comprehensive view from a distance. This might be
similar to what we would see if we looked out over, say, a field. If a
person is in such a shot, their whole body is visible from head to foot,
and they may even look small and far away.

A WS or LS is most commonly used as an establishing shot. An


establishing shot provides important information about the setting,
environment, or context in which subsequent events will take place. It is
often the first in a scene or sequence.

The size of the images on a television screen is considerably smaller


than film projected onto a movie screen. Wide shots featuring broad
landscapes or large crowds are generally less effective on a television
screen than on a movie screen.
A medium shot or MS is midway between a WS (or LS) and a close-
up. An MS of a person is usually shot from the waist up.

A medium close-up or MCU is closer still. An MCU of a person shows


from mid-chest to head.

A close-up or CU of a person shows head and shoulders. A big close-

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up or BCU, sometimes known as an extreme close-up or ECU, of a
person shows the head, usually from the bottom of the chin to the mid-
forehead.

Close-ups are not simply complements to medium and wide or long


shots. Their power of emphasis gives them a special place in film. They
can show whatever is most significant at any given moment and focus
our attention on it. A CU or BCU may reveal human emotions, such as
sadness as revealed through signs like tears, or anxiety as shown by
constant wringing of the hands. They may reveal private information, as
in a BCU of a letter, emphasise such other symbols as police
identification, or increase tension by focusing on a door handle turning.

A shot framed from a particular character's point of view is called a


subjective shot. In a subjective shot, the audience sees almost exactly
what the character sees. Subjective shots can also reveal how a
character is seeing, as in an out-of-focus shot from the point of view of
a character who is injured, just waking up, or drugged.

Another kind of subjective shot is when a character looks directly into


the camera and talks to the viewer, who, no longer an unacknowledged
observer, is drawn into the action. This technique is sometimes used for
comic effect in feature films, and it serves a particular purpose in
television commercials, where the second person pronoun "you" is used
in conjunction with a subjective shot to address the viewer personally
and individually.

Similar to the subjective shot is the over-the shoulder shot, filmed over
the character's shoulder from behind. This shot often looks towards
another character and is usually followed by a reverse-angle shot
showing the face of the person whose back was to the camera.

A shot that shows two people, very common in film drama, is


sometimes called a two-shot.

Different camera angles

Another important element of composition is camera angle. Normal


shots are taken from eye level. In a high-angle shot, the camera looks
down at the subject. Such a shot can make a person seem small,
insignificant, unlikely to win, vulnerable, or helpless. A low-angle shot,
which looks up at the subject, can have the opposite effect, making the
character seem large, important, likely to win, powerful, and in control.

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Different lenses

Composition is also affected by the lens and focus used. A wide-angle


lens provides great depth of field and can capture wider spaces than a
normal lens from the same distance. Foreground and background details
may be separated by considerable distances, yet all the objects within
the frame appear in sharp focus, although a wide-angle lens can distort
the image of subjects very close to the camera. The wide-angle lens can
capture action in the foreground and related or unrelated action in the
background, both of which might be important.

Generally, though, the closer the subject is to the camera, the shallower
the depth of field is. The long lens usually shows objects in the
foreground clearly, but objects in the background are less sharply
defined and may be blurred. Within a shot, the focus may be altered to
reconcentrate the viewer's eyes on what is in focus by pulling or
racking focus.

A telephoto lens shot has little depth, but the use of a such a long lens
can bring the subject very close. This lens enables a photographer to
capture easily frightened or dangerous wildlife in its natural habitat or
the detail of sporting action in a way otherwise impossible.

A zoom lens or zoom combines the optical properties of normal lenses


with those of wide-angle and long lenses, enabling movement from
wide-angle to telephoto, or the opposite, within the same shot. The
zoom can easily be overused and often is by amateur, student, or
inexperienced film or video camera operators.

Movement

It is sometimes helpful to consider a shot in terms of movement, which


occurs within a frame when the subject of the shot moves. The frame
itself moves when the camera is fixed but pans by moving on its
horizontal axis, for instance, as it pans across the horizon of a
countryside location or follows a character walking across a
playground. The frame also moves when the camera tilts up or down on
its vertical axis or when the lens zooms in or out.

The camera itself moves when the camera tracks the subject.
Sometimes, actual tracks are laid on the ground - hence the term
tracking - or the camera may be mounted on a vehicle or trolley called
a dolly, from which we get the term dolly shots. The camera may be
hand held to follow the subject. Cameras may also move up or down
while attached to a crane, producing crane shots, or they may produce
aerial shots from an aircraft or helicopter.

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Summary of Terms
composition reverse-angle shot zoom lens
shot two-shot zoom
wide shot (WS) camera angle movement
long shot (LS) high-angle shot pans
establishing shot low-angle shot tilts
medium shot (MS) lens tracks
medium close-up (MCU) focus tracking
close-up (CU) wide-angle lens dolly
big close-up (BCU) long lens dolly shots
extreme close-up (ECU) pulling or racking focus crane shots
subjective shot telephoto lens aerial shots
over-the-shoulder shot

Next: Let There Be Lights!

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