Film Notes

Shots, Angles, Cuts, and Sound By Tonya Merritt Film Appreciation

SHOTS The basic visual unit of a movie is the shot. Shots are usually described in terms of camera distance with respect to an object within the shot. There are seven fundamental types of shots:

CLOSE-UP In a close-up, the subject is framed by the camera, filling the screen.This connotes intimacy.

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP A medium close-up shows one or two characters framing the shoulders or chest and head.

MEDIUM SHOT Medium shots frame a character from the waist, hips or knees up. The camera is sufficiently distanced from the body for the character to be seen in relation to his or her surroundings.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT Half way between a long and a medium shot. If it frames a character, the whole body will be in view in the middle ground of the shot.

LONG SHOT In long shots, the subject or characters are at some distance from the camera. They are seen in full in their surrounding environment.

EXTREME LONG SHOT Extreme long shots show the subject or characters very much in the background of the shot. The surroundings have as much if not more importance, especially if the shot is in high-angle.

SHOT/COUNTER SHOT Also known as shot/ reverse angle, it is most commonly used for dialogue. It consists of two alternating shots, generally in medium close-up, framing the two speakers.

ASK YOURSELF: How close is the camera to the subject? How does the shot influence my connection to the characters? What is the camera’s point-of-view? Why does the director want me to identify with this character or see things from this perspective?

SHOT ANGLES The shot angle is the direction and height from which the camera takes the scene. The convention is that in “factual” programs, the subjects should be shot from eye-level only. A high angle (looking down) makes the viewer feel more important or detached from the character. A low angle (looking up) exaggerates the character’s importance. Bird’s Eye (overhead) shots are made from directly above the action.

Editing Techniques JUMP CUT: There is no match between two spliced shots.

Editing Techniques MATCH CUT: The content stays the same, but the shot changes (i.e. long to medium).

Editing Techniques MOTIVATED CUT: Lets the viewers see something they want to see that is not currently visible (speaker, object, time).

EDITING TECHNIQUES FADE: Can create a quiet, peaceful introduction or ending to a scene.

CUTTING RATE Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock, surprise, or emphasize. A cutting rhythm may be progressively shortened to increase tension. Cutting may create an exciting, fluid or staccato effect in the viewer depending on the types of cuts and how quickly they come.

SOUND VOICE-OVER NARRATION: Commentary spoken off-screen over the shots shown. The voice over can be used to: Introduce parts of the program; Add extra information not evident from the picture; Interpret the images for the audience from a particular point of view; Link parts of a sequence together. SOUND EFFECTS: Any sound from any source other than synchronized dialogue, narration, or music. Dubbed-in effects can add to the illusion of reality.

SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC MUSIC: Music helps establish the mood and pace of the accompanying scene. The rhythm of the music often dictates the rhythm of the cuts, and the emotional coloring of the music reinforces the mood of the scene. Conventionally, background music accelerates for a chase sequence, becomes louder to underscore a dramatically important action. Through repetition (motifs), it can also link shots.

REFERENCES The “Grammar” of Television and Film, www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html Connections: A Hypertext Resource for Literature, www.math.grinnell.edu/~simpsone/Connections/Film/Shots/cuts.html