Camera angles powerpoint

Media: Camera angles

By Beth Barlow

Bird’s eye view A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object from above,

with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the making of blueprints, floor plans and maps

. It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing. Before manned flight was common, the term "bird's eye" was used to distinguish views drawn from direct observation at high locations (for example a mountain or tower), from those constructed from an imagined (bird's) perspectives.

The terms aerial view and aerial viewpoint are also sometimes used synonymously with bird's-eye view. The term aerial view can refer to any view from a great height, even at a wide angle, as for example when looking sideways from an airplane window or from a mountain top. Overhead view is fairly synonymous with bird's-eye view but tends to imply a less lofty vantage point than the latter term. 

Long shotIn photography, filmmaking and video production,

a long shot, normally shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. It has been suggested that long-shot ranges usually correspond to approximately what would be the distance between the front row of the audience and the stage in live theatre. It is now common to refer to a long shot as a "wide shot" because it often requires the use of a wide-angle lens. When a long shot is used to set up a location and its participants in film and video, it is called an establishing shot.

I used this shot of the path as it shows the whole length of it to show a long shot.

Medium shotIn film, a medium shot is a camera angle shot from a

medium distance. The dividing line between "long shot" and "medium shot" is fuzzy, as is the line between "medium shot" and "close-up". In some standard texts and professional references, a full-length view of a human subject is called a medium shot; in this terminology, a shot of the person from the knees up or the waist up is a close-up shot. In other texts, these partial views are called medium shots. (For example, in Europe a medium shot is framed from the waist up.) It is mainly used for a scene when it is desirable to see the subjects' facial expressions in the context of their body language.

I chose this to represent the medium shot as it is a picture that shows the top half of our bodies and it clear to say it shows the shot really well.

Crane shots A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of

equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.

The aerial shot An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually

taken from a helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and exhilaration — so long as you don't need to get too close to your actors or use location sound with the shots.

I used this shot as it was just an object on the ground that shows the aerial shot.

Dolly shots The camera is placed on a moving vehicle and

moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object. Complicated dolly shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to follow, hence the name. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane, or even a shopping trolley (good method for independent film-makers looking to save a few dollars). A dolly shot may be a good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.

High angle

This angle is similar to the Bird’s-eye view but not as high up. The camera is slanted in the action, hovering over the sides of the heads. This makes whatever you are trying to focus on smaller and insignificant. This action becomes part of a wider scale.

I have used this shot of the tree as it represents the high angle and I thought it would show the shot well.

Low angleLow angles are mainly used to give an effect

of how small you are to the world. Low angles shots give a sense of powerlessness and makes you feel useful in the scene and this type of camera angle would be useful for short actors like Danny Devito or Tom Cruise.

I have used this shot to show the low angle as it was the perfect thing to show in the shot that shows it off really well.

Oblique/Canted AngleAn Oblique/Canted Angle can be sometimes

tilted which is used in many popular horror movies to indicate to the audience that the scene is unstable, or ‘something is going to go wrong’. This shot suggests the ‘point of view’ of a character <- (even hand-held camera’s could be used for this).

Eye levelThe eye-level shot is placed in level with a

character’s face as if the audience is watching in level with the focus.

- I have used this shot of my pencil case as I could see it at eye level and it was a simple but shows the shot clearly.