First, there is the the Establishing Shot. Abbreviated to EST. Shot, establishing shot is used to establish the geography and time of day and is also used to show the scale of subject in relation to their environment. EST. is also used to open a scene or entire film or to transition from one scene to another. An example of an establishing shot could be the camera over-looking a city. Reason being is because it shows the location and time of day of the scene.
The master shot does something similar to the establishing shot, but follows the establishing shot and introduces the characters, where they are in the scene and where they are in relation to each other. An example of a master shot could be the camera facing a cast of actors of a school play bowing towards the audience. It is considered a master shot because it shows the environment of the scene and where the characters are in relation to both the environment they are in and to each other.
A wide shot places the subject far from the camera to only connect the subject to its environment, unlike the establishing shot, the wide shot mainly focuses on the subject. Wide shots are used to make the subject feel lost, lonely or overwhelmed. An example of a wide shot could be a dog in an empty car park. This is because the dog is the subject and being in an empty car park suggests that the dog is lost and lonely.
When the subject's body reaches the top and bottom of a frame, it is considered a full shot. Full shots often have the subject in the center of the frame, but having the subject in the middle of the frame is not mandatory. Filmmakers use the full shot to make statements about the subject's physicality and present the character in all their glory. An example of a full shot is in a family photo, where the subject is in the center and front of the family in the first scene of a movie. This is used as a good example because it helps the subject to stand out and gives hints to the audience of what type of character the subject may be.
A medium full shot or cowboy shot consists of the subject head to just below their waist in the frame. It is called a "cowboy shot" because it is used in a lot of films based on the height of the cowboy's holsters. There does not have to be any gun holster, but it is difficult to not think about a cowboy when seeing these shots because of their confrontational appearance. An example could be the camera facing a man from a low angle whilst he draws a gun. This example was used because it reminds the audience of cowboys due to the range of the frame from the head to below their waist.
The medium shot is a very popular shot size among all of media because of its neutrality. It sets the mood between dramatic (close-up) and distant (wide shot) making the mood of the scene neutral. The shot captures the scene in a similar way to how us humans interact with each other. The size to aim for when using a medium shot is above the waist, below the chest and just above the head captured in a frame. This shot is used to dig in to the subject's eyes without losing the subject's physicality or environment, or use it to utilize a middle ground approach that is neither jarring nor especially dramatic. An example of this could be in Coco because when Miguel was watching his idol on T.V., the audience can see the joy on his face clearly as well as the reason for his joy.
The Medium Close-up shot is applied when the camera sees from the subjects mid-chest to just above their head. These shots are used to minimize distraction and prioritize story in character detail. It is also used to get intimate with a subject without losing its physicality. A good example is an apology from one person to the subject of the scene. This is used as an example because we can clearly see the emotions of each of the characters which adds the mood to the scene and not being so close to the character's faces prevents too much emotion to make the scene just the right amount of dramatic.
The close-up shot is used by filmmakers as a powerful visual tool to highlight a change in emotion or beat on screen. A lot of filmmakers arrange close-ups at eye level to dig in better to the subject's eyes. The close-up shot allows the audience to see a character's thoughts, feelings and emotions. Close-ups are also used for empathy and to show how dramatically effective the scene is in a time of decision. An example of this could be in a battle between the protagonist and the antagonist, making a choice between whether to kill the antagonist or to save a character in the film that is very close in relation to them. At the same time, the audience can hear the protagonist's thoughts, giving hints towards who they will choose and why. This is a good example because the camera's position allows the audience to share the same feelings with the protagonist as they make their decision, having empathy for that character and relating to that character much more than they thought they would.
The extreme close-up shot, (ECU), is similar to the close-up shot as they mostly focus on one part of the subject and a lot of the time used on the eyes of a subject, giving meaning to the scene, only, the subject of the frame is isolated, emphasizing the importance of the subject and can have more meaning with things such as ears, mouth, nose, etc. Instead of reducing distractions, they rid of them entirely. An example of which could be the camera using the subject eyes as a mirror to reflect a silhouette walking away from them. This example was used because it shows not only loneliness as the silhouette becomes further away from the subject, it also lets the audience have sympathy for the subject as the frame captures the eyes filling with tears.
When filmmakers need to highlight a crucial element to a scene or when an intimate detail needs to be shown to the audience, they use the insert shot. Insert shots are used most commonly to highlight and isolate something important to the narrative of a scene or film, emphasizing the importance of the subject of the frame. A good example is if the camera zoomed in on a character opening a box with a ring inside. This is considered a decent example because the camera captures and allows the audience to see something that was important to the scene of the film and creates dramatic irony between the audience and a certain number of other characters in the film.
The purpose of shot sizes is to help emphasize meaning in a certain frame in the correct manner. The reason it is so crucial to filmmaking is because without filmmakers paying attention to shot sizes, the film will not catch as much attention as they would with shot sizes.
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