Camera Shots

Shot Types + What's happening.


Wide Shot (WS)
- set the scene.

Long Shot (LS)
- Head and toe visible.

Medium Shot (MS)
- Head to waist. (often a 2 person conversation)

Medium Close Up (MCU)
- Head and shoulder, over the shoulder and great for showing facial expressions.

Close up (CU)
- Close up of an aspect of the character (usually the face but can be other parts such as a hand)

Big Close Up/Extreme Close Up (BCU/ECU)
-Extreme Detail and rarely used to have a strong effect.

Over the Shoulder (OTS)
-Shot from behind a person at the subject, used for conversations or to show something from a characters point of view.

High angle makes subject looks small and weak.
low angle makes subject look big and powerful.
Unusual Perspective can be used to surprise the audience or show danger. (e.g. looking down a cliff)