Project 1: Camera Moves and Shots
This project is designed to help students practice basic camera movements and shots. You will be working in groups to gather the following shots. Each shot described in the following list must be recorded in the following order and demonstrated on your personal tape. Each shot must have a 5 second duration. The content of the shots is up to each person who is working as the camera operator.
DIRECTIONS
I. Review the camera moves and shot descriptions below
as well as in your notes.
II. In your crews, have each person take turns as the
camera operator.
III. Practice or "block" your shots before actually recording
them.
IV. Make sure that each shot is only 5 seconds and that
you don't leave blank tape between shots.
V. All people in each crew must participate as both talent
and camera operators to recieve full credit.
| Camera Moves
1. dolly- moving the camera toward or back from the subject. 2. truck-moving the camera and tripod from side to side. 3. zoom-using the zoom lens on the camera 4. pan-turning the camera from side to side 5. cant-to tilt the camera from side to side 6. pedestal-to elevate the camera up or down 7. tilt-tilting the camera up or down |
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| Shot Descriptions
8. (WS)- wide shot, (LS) long shot, or establishing shot 9. (XLS) or (ELS)- extreme long shot 10. (LS)- long shot or FS (full shot).- With people, this is a shot from the top of their heads to their feet. 11. (MS)- an MS is normally a shot from the waist up. 12. (MCU) (medium closeup) is a shot cropped between the shoulders and the belt line. 13. (CU) A relatively straight-on CU (closeup) is the most desirable for interviews.Changing facial expressions, which are important to understanding a conversation, can easily be seen. CUs are also commonly used for insert shots of objects when important details need to be shown. 14. (XCU) or (ECU) -are extreme closeups. On people this type of shot is reserved for dramatic impact. The XCU shot may show just the eyes of an individual. With objects an XCU is often necessary to reveal important detail. 15. (2-S and 3-S)- A two-shot or three-shot (also ) designates a shot of two or three people in one scene. 16. (O/S)-over-the-shoulder shot-shows the camera looking over the shoulder of someone nearter to the camera. 17. (X/S) -a cross-shot looks alternately at one or the other person, with the camera near person totaly out of the shot. 18. (subjective shot)- indicates that the audience (camera) will see what the character sees. Often it indicates a handheld camera shot that moves in a walking or running motion while following a character. Subjective camera shots can add drama and frenzy to chase scenes. 19. (Camera angles) - bird's eye view, high angle, eye-level, and low angle. |
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