Basic Film Terminology
Shot - answer a single piece of film uninterrupted by cuts.
Establishing Shot - answer often a long shot or a series of shots that sets the scene. It
is used to establish setting and to show transitions between locations.
Long Shot (LS) - answer a shot from some distance. If filming a person, the full body is
shown. It may show the isolation or vulnerability of the character (also called a Full
Shot).
Medium Shot (MS) - answer the most common shot. The camera seems to be a
medium distance from the object being filmed. A medium shot shows the person from
the waist up. The effect is to ground the story.
Close Up (CU) - answer the image being shot takes up at least 80 percent of the frame.
Extreme Close Up - answer the image being shot is a part of a whole, such as an eye or
a hand.
Two Shot - answera scene between two people shot exclusively from an angle that
includes both characters more or less equally. It is used in love scenes where
interaction between the two characters is important.
Eye Level - answera shot taken from a normal height; that is, the character's eye level.
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the shots seen are eye level, because it is the most
natural angle.
High Angle - answerthe camera is above the subject. This usually has the effect of
making the subject look smaller than normal, giving him or her the appearance of being
weak, powerless, and trapped.
Low Angle - answerthe camera films subject from below. This usually has the effect of
making the subject look larger than normal, and therefore strong, powerful, and
threatening.
Pan - answera stationary camera moves from side to side on a horizontal axis.
Tilt - answera stationary camera moves up or down along a vertical axis
Zoom - answera stationary camera where the lens moves to make an object seem to
move closer to or further away from the camera. With this technique, moving into a
Shot - answer a single piece of film uninterrupted by cuts.
Establishing Shot - answer often a long shot or a series of shots that sets the scene. It
is used to establish setting and to show transitions between locations.
Long Shot (LS) - answer a shot from some distance. If filming a person, the full body is
shown. It may show the isolation or vulnerability of the character (also called a Full
Shot).
Medium Shot (MS) - answer the most common shot. The camera seems to be a
medium distance from the object being filmed. A medium shot shows the person from
the waist up. The effect is to ground the story.
Close Up (CU) - answer the image being shot takes up at least 80 percent of the frame.
Extreme Close Up - answer the image being shot is a part of a whole, such as an eye or
a hand.
Two Shot - answera scene between two people shot exclusively from an angle that
includes both characters more or less equally. It is used in love scenes where
interaction between the two characters is important.
Eye Level - answera shot taken from a normal height; that is, the character's eye level.
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the shots seen are eye level, because it is the most
natural angle.
High Angle - answerthe camera is above the subject. This usually has the effect of
making the subject look smaller than normal, giving him or her the appearance of being
weak, powerless, and trapped.
Low Angle - answerthe camera films subject from below. This usually has the effect of
making the subject look larger than normal, and therefore strong, powerful, and
threatening.
Pan - answera stationary camera moves from side to side on a horizontal axis.
Tilt - answera stationary camera moves up or down along a vertical axis
Zoom - answera stationary camera where the lens moves to make an object seem to
move closer to or further away from the camera. With this technique, moving into a
