Media Terminology

Shots:

Extreme Close Up - This is when an object fills the frame unnaturally and appears to be larger than it is.This shot draws attention and might connote stalking, fear or anxiety.


Close-Up - This is when the frame is filled with an object or a subject. It highlights importance, show details and allows the audience to engage with intensity.


Mid-Shot - This is when the frame is filled with moderate view of something. It is the most natural shot.


Long Shot - This is when the subject is captured in full length.This establishes characters and provides the audience with the most information.


Establishing Shot - This is usually used for location shots. It sets the scene and tends to be a wide shot allowing for most of the background to be seen.


Master Shot - A master shot is a film recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view.


Over the Shoulder Shot - In film or video, an over the shoulder shot (also over shoulder, OS, OTS, or third-person shot) is a shot of someone or something taken over the shoulder of another person.


Point of View Shot - This angle can make the audience feel as being one of the characters.


Two Shot - This is where there are two people in the same shot.


Aerial Shot - An extremely high angle view of a subject usually taken from a crane or a high stationary camera position, but may also refer to a shot taken from an actual airplane or helicopter.


Angles:

Subjective Angle - This is when you feel like you are involved in a scene, because you see what the character sees.


Canted Angle - A view of a scene that is tilted off center. This is often used to indicate something is amiss.


Low Angle -This is when camera is physically lower than the subject. It makes the subject appear larger and intimidates the audience.


High Angle - This is when the camera is higher than the subject.The subject appears inferior, scared and vulnerable. It allows audience to feel powerful and superior to the subject.

Movement:

Pan - A shot that is made from a camera pivoting horizontally from a fixed axis, usually a tripod.

Tilt - A shot taken by angling a stationary camera up (tilt-up) or down (tilt-down).

Zoom - A camera shot that changes smoothly from a long shot to a close-up.

Reverse Zoom - A camera shot that changes smoothly from a close-up to a long-shot.

Crane - Shot taken by a camera on a crane. The most obvious uses are to view the actors from above or to move up and away from them, a common way of ending a movie.

Track/Dolly - Also known as a dolly shot or trucking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken.


Composition:

Depth of Field - The distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that give an image judged to be in focus in a camera.