CAMERA SHOTS - 2/17/22

       When I started out the year in my AICE Media class, we watched a short clip from the movie Raging Bull. My teacher instructed us to start taking notes on what every element of the film meant: color, setting, sound, and shots. What confused me the most were the shots. What do shots even mean? Do, they even have meaning? What I've learned throughout this class is that they definitely have meaning; every part of filmmaking has meaning. Of course, why wouldn't it. So now that it's time to be my own filmmaker, it's also time for me to research a little more into what each of these shots means and how that can influence my shot choices. 

      As I've begun researching these shots, I went straight to my notes; we noted around 20 different shots. I also went to this website to dive deeper into what they really mean. 

Close up

Close-up of Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

      A close-up is a common shot used to create up close and personal shots with the character. Sometimes meant to be uncomfortable, close-up shots show lots of details and emotions that go on within a character internally and externally.  These shots can symbolize importance, worry, fear, etc.

Extreme Close Up

      An extreme close-up is similar to a close-up in the way that it creates a strong sense of emotion in a way that's a little uncomfortable for the viewer, but gets the job done. These shots show more detail on the character's face or the object's physical appearance, Extreme close-ups can show the moving of the mouth or the blinking of the eyes, while a normal close-up would show the whole head moving at once.

Medium Shot

      The medium shot is the happy medium between the close-up shot and the long shot, so it's still a bit personal but not completely. This shot shows half of the character's body from the waist up but also shows some of the background. So, we can see details of the character's bodies while also potentially seeing what's going on behind them.

Long Shot

      The long shot is one step larger than the medium shot. So, we can see the whole character and a lot of the background. This shot allows the viewer to see all of the costume designs of the character and see the gestures and mannerisms they use. They can also see the body language of the character which helps develop the purpose behind the scene.

Two-shot from the movie The Breakfast Club

Two Shot

      The two-shot means what its name is; it's a shot of two characters in a film. This can be a close-up two-shot, a medium two-shot, etc. This can create the effect of any of those shots, but with two characters, so we can see their dialogue and body language toward each other.

High & Low Angle

      High and low-angle shots create completely different effects. A high-angle shot occurs when the camera is placed above the character's head to make them appear powerless. The low-angle shot is used to create the opposite effect. The effect it creates is the feeling of power.

      Now that I've gone more into depth about what each shot means, I can apply them to my own film opening. Because my opening surrounds a teenage girl and her stresses, it's only right to have the majority of my shots be close-ups. These close-ups will be able to show the audience the emotions and feel the true stress that Taylor is going through. I like close-ups more than extreme close-ups because they aren't as awkward. In most films, you'll see extreme close-ups rarely used in comparison to most other shots. Normal close-ups do the job of intimacy without feeling a sense of awkwardness between the film an the viewer. The only extreme close-up I am considering is one in which we see a close-up of Taylor's eyes when she finally submits her assignment so we see her true sigh of relief shown through her eyes. I have much to think about when meticulously choosing which shots to use in my opening; in the upcoming weeks, I'll make my final decision while storyboarding which I'll share with you guys!

Here's a page from my notes I referred to:

Sources

Team, NFI. “Types of Film Shots: 80+ Shots You Must Know.” NFI, 3 Aug. 2022, https://www.nfi.edu/types-of-film-shots/.

I'll talk to you guys later. Signing off!

- Amanda Margulies