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