Camera Techniques

Insert Shot
A tight shot of a single prop fills the frame, so viewers catch the one detail the story needs in about two seconds.
Head-On Shot
The camera faces the characters and the door square on, lining both women up toward the viewer so their positions read instantly.
Close-Up
A face fills the frame, so small shifts in the eyes and expression become the main event of these few seconds.
POV Shot
The camera takes a character's eye position, so what viewers see is exactly what she is looking at.
Whip Pan
The camera swings so fast that a streak of motion blur joins two images into a single movement.
One-er
From the main door to the magic circle without a single cut, the camera walks viewers through the whole archive room.
Medium Close-Up
Framed from the head to the chest, the shot lets viewers read a character's expression and her hands at the same time.
Push-In
The camera moves slowly toward the subject, narrowing the frame from the surrounding space down to a single focal point.
Rack Focus
The focus shifts while the camera stays put, carrying the viewer's attention from the foreground to the background.
360-Degree Shot
The camera circles all the way around a character, bringing the room and everyone else's actions into view one after another.
Pull-Out
The camera backs away ahead of the characters, so the runners keep charging at the viewer while the corridor stretches out behind them.
Bird's-Eye View
The camera looks straight down from above, laying out the route, the walls and where everyone stands in one flat view.
High-Angle Shot
Shot from above at an angle, the frame shrinks the people and shows the obstacle, the oncoming cart and the path being cleared all at once.
Handheld Shot
The camera moves with the characters as if carried by someone running beside them, keeping the audience inside the rush of the chase.
Overhead Shot
Shot from directly above, the frame lays out the hands and the mechanism side by side so the action can't be misread.
Static Shot
The camera doesn't move at all; the frame becomes a fixed stage, and the audience watches only what changes inside it.
Over-the-Shoulder Shot
One character's head and shoulder hold the foreground while we look past them at another, so where each one stands is clear at a glance.
Dolly Shot
The camera travels back in a smooth straight line, keeping its distance from the group coming at it while the passage stretches out behind them.
Tracking Shot
The camera moves alongside a character at her pace, holding her steady in frame while the background slides away.
Steadicam
The camera moves as if worn by an operator walking through the scene, turning corners and pressing forward without the jolts of handheld.
Two Shot
Two characters share one frame as they act, so the audience sees how they split the work and how far apart they stand.
Master Shot
One wide, locked-off frame shows the whole location and where everyone stands, giving later close shots a map to come back to.
Worm's-Eye View
The camera drops to ground level and looks up, so the street shrinks to a strip and the characters rise from the flagstones to fill the frame.
Eye-Level Shot
The camera sits at the characters' eye height, looking neither up nor down, so the handoff is seen on equal terms.
Dutch Angle
The whole frame is tilted at one fixed angle, so walls and lantern rows run on a slant and an ordinary walk feels unsettled.
Choker Shot
The frame is cropped to forehead and chin, leaving only expression and eyes; even the walking shows up only in the background.
Tilt Shot
The camera keeps its position and left-right heading and only tilts up and down, following an object that rises and falls.
Establishing Shot
A wide opening frame lays out the buildings, directions and landmarks, so viewers know where the next action takes place.
Crane Shot
The camera physically rises, carrying the viewer from the ground to the top of the building so the vertical layout unfolds in one move.
Low-Angle Shot
The camera sits below the subject and looks up, setting the characters against the night sky and the structure above them.
Crash Zoom
A zoom so fast it slams the frame onto one target from the same camera position, throwing all attention onto a single signal.
Medium Shot
Frames two characters together with what their hands are doing, so the viewer sees who acts and who waits in a single image.
Extreme Close-Up
Pushes in until a single eye fills the screen, so the reflection in the pupil and the shift of the gaze carry the moment.
Vertigo Effect
Moves the camera in while widening the lens, so the foreground subject holds and the space behind stretches, producing a sense of unease.
Aerial Shot
Looks down on the whole rooftop from high above, laying out buildings, exits and people at once so the viewer learns the geography first.
Long Shot
Places characters whole within their surroundings, so the viewer sees full-body movement, the distance between people and the space around them.
Pan Shot
Turns the camera sideways from a fixed spot, carrying the frame from one side to the other to present a row of people and objects in order.
Extreme Long Shot
Shrinks people to almost nothing and lets the setting and something enormous fill the frame, so scale is felt through proportion.
Cowboy Shot
Frames a character from head to mid-thigh, keeping the face, the hands and the action at the waist in one shot.
Slow Motion
Slows a key action down so the viewer can see a contact or handoff that would otherwise be over in an instant.