The Language Of Film.

Extreme Long Shot.

This shot can be taken from about a quarter of a mile away. 

It shows an exterior, for example;a landscape, or the outside of a building, 

This shot is often used for a thrilling scene like in a war or a disaster film. An extreme long shot will hardly have detail in it but it's supposed to just give a general impression instead of detailed info.

Long Shot.

This shot is the one that shows the image as approx "life" size. This includes the full shot showing the whole human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.

 The small amount of room above and below the subject can be thought of as safety room you don't want to be cutting the top of the head off.

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Medium Shot.

This shot has a figure from the knees/waist up and is used for dialogue scenes most of the time, or to show some detail of action. The background detail is basic, probably because location has been organised beforehand.

 

Close Up.

In the closeup shot, a certain feature or part of the object or person takes up almost all of the picture. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face.Close-ups are obviously useful for showing detail.

 

Extreme Close-Up.

An extreme close up is basically magnifying more than what the human eye would see in reality, eg, An extreme close-up of a face, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail. This can be used for dramatic effect. 

Dutch Tilt.

A Dutch tilt is a camera shot where the camera angle is purposely slanted to one side. This can be used for dramatic effect.

Weather Shot.

In this type of shot the subject is the weather. The sky takes up at least 2/3 of the frame. This type of shot is common in television programs.

A weather shot doesn't have to show the sky. Other shots often have:

• Puddles, drain spouts or any example of rainwater flow.
• Trees or anything else blowing in the wind.
• People sunbathing etc...

Over The Shoulder Shot(OSS).

This shot is taken from behind a person who is looking at the subject.

This shot is often taken when two people are in a conversation.

 

Noddy Shot.

Sometimes in interviews, this is a shot of the person listening and reacting to the subject. In fact, when shooting interviews with one camera, the usual routine is to shoot the subject (using OSS and one-shots) for the entire interview, then shoot some noddies of the interviewer once the interview is finished. The noddies are edited into the interview later.

Two Shot.

There are a few variations on this one, but the basic idea is to have a comfortable shot of two people. Often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show.