Types of Camera Shot Sizes

Question 1

What are the 11 Types of Camera Shot Sizes?

Answer 1

1. Establishing Shot
2. Master Shot
3. Extreme Wide Shot
4. Wide Shot
5. Full Shot
6. Medium Full Shot
7. Cowboy Shot
8. Medium Shot
9. Medium Close Up Shot
10. Close Up Shot
11. Extreme Close Up Shot

Question 2

Define the Establishing Shot

• How it Works:
• Feeling:
• Use:

Answer 2

crucial introductory component of any scene

How it Works:

• will make your subject appear small against their location
• often follows an aerial shot and is used to show where everything will happen

Use:

• need to establish GEOGRAPHY, TIME OF DAY, SCALE of SUBJECT in relation to ENVIRONMENT
• build TONE and CONTEXT
• TRANSITION between different SCENES or SUBJECTS
• introduce crucial details about a location or subject

Question 3

Define the Master Shot

• How it Works:
• Feeling:
• Use:

Answer 3

confirms the location & geography of the scene while clarifying which characters are in the scene & their relationship with each other

How it Works:

• catches the scene playing out in its entirety, providing the editor with something to cut out to if needed

Use:

• following the Establishing Shot

Question 4

Define the Extreme Wide Shot

• Feeling:
• Use:

Answer 4

will make your subject appear small against their location

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Feeling:

• make your subject appear small, distant, overwhelmed or unfamiliar against their location

Use:

• need to emphasize the location or isolation of characters & their relationship to it

Question 5

Define the Wide Shot

How it Works:

Feeling:

Use:

Answer 5

frames entire subject to show their relation to their surroundings with space above & below (subject doesn’t fill the frame)

How it Works:

• A wide shot will often keep the entire subject in frame while giving context to the environment
• Can be captured by any type of camera or lens but is often shot using a wide-angle lens

Feeling:

• lets us see the beautiful background imagery & any onlookers which will make any big moment more cinematic

Use:

• you need to give a better idea of the scene-setting, and how the character fits into the area
• you want to keep your subject in plain view amidst grander surroundings

Question 6

Define the Full Shot

How it Works:

Use:

Answer 6

Full Body

How it Works:

subjects’ entire body reaches from the top & bottom of the frame while keeping an emphasis on scenery

capture the setting and context of a character and can be used with one character or multiple

Use:

• Wanting to feature multiple characters in a single shot
• Show a character’s actions
• Establish setting and context
• Show body language between characters
• You want the allow the audience to see the emotions on a character’s face while simultaneously seeing their physicality, body language, and actions

Question 7

Define the Medium Full Shot

How it Works:

Feeling:

Use:

Answer 7

Knees & Up

How it Works:

• frames the subject from roughly the knees up (splits the difference between a full shot and a medium shot)
• slightly favours the background over the subjects and foreground

Feeling:

• help an audience feel like they’re actually there without also making them feel uncomfortably close to the action

Use:

• you want to highlight the background but still stay in the social proximity of the character or scene

Question 8

Define the Cowboy Shot

How it Works:

Use:

Answer 8

Mid-Thighs & Up

How it Works:

frames the subject from roughly mid-thighs up

Use:

you want to present a subject as CONFIDENT, DANGEROUS or CONFRONTATIONAL

Question 9

Define the Medium Shot

How it Works:

Use:

Answer 9

Waist up

How it Works:

• it emphasizes more of your subject while keeping their surroundings visible
• the distance from the subject means you can frame up multiple actors at once, and capture everything they are doing in the scene

Use:

• you need to use a middle-ground approach that isn’t too jarring or dramatic
• dialogue scenes
• depicting body language & more of the setting (filming multiple subjects while including background & space in general

Question 10

Define the Medium Close Up Shot

How it Works:

Use:

Answer 10

Mid-Chest (nips) & Up

How it Works:

• frames your subject from roughly the chest up, typically favouring the face while keeping the subject somewhat distant

Use:

• you want to keep the subjects eerily distant even during their face-to-face conversations

Question 11

Define the Close Up Shot

How it Works:

Feeling:

Use:

Answer 11

Collarbone & Up

How it Works:

• fills your frame with a part of your subject (often their face)
• is near enough to register tiny emotions, but not so close that we lose visibility
• reveals subjects thoughts & feelings

Feeling:

• They let the audience get close to your character to see their facial gestures in detail

Use:

• want to reveal a subject’s emotions and reactions
• perfect for important moments

Question 12

Define the Extreme Close Up Shot

How it Works:

Use:

Answer 12

Eyes, Mouth, Face, Isolated Objects

How it Works:

• frames a subject to isolate a specific area
• shows eyes, mouth, gun triggers, etc
• smaller objects get great detail and are the focal point

Use:

• you need to emphasize something