If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s true of all films, whether it\u2019s a Spielberg blockbuster, a Coen Brothers indie, or your niece\u2019s sixth birthday party, it\u2019s that movies have to tell a tale. That\u2019s their very purpose, after all; they\u2019re a visual story-telling medium.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re filming that birthday party \u2013 or a wedding, or a prom, or Christmas Day, or any event, really \u2013 the viewer should be at the forefront of your mind. That\u2019s why you\u2019re making your home movie, to watch it back with your family time and again, reliving those wonderful memories. Because of that, you\u2019ll want to keep them visually stimulated \u2013 simply pointing the camera and pressing record isn\u2019t going to cut it.<\/p>\n
Just because you\u2019re shooting a home movie, that doesn\u2019t mean your film can have any less of a narrative. Don\u2019t worry though \u2013 there are a few things you can do to bring that story to life. First and foremost, though, is making full use of the shots available to you. Today, then, we\u2019re going to be looking at camera shots and their purpose in telling a great story. We\u2019ll start with the basics, the ones you\u2019ll undoubtedly recognise from countless TVs and movies.<\/p>\n
Long Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The long shot, sometimes referred to as a wide shot, establishes a subject in relation to his or her location. The point of a long shot is to set the scene for the audience \u2013 so, taking that birthday party as an example, you\u2019d have the birthday girl, and all the guests, in the living room in a single shot.<\/p>\n Medium Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A medium shot generally refers to a full-body shot, or one from the waist up \u2013 which is helpful if you\u2019re looking to capture both facial expressions and body language. Want to see the bride in all her glory, smiling away in her sheer white number? The medium shot is perfect for this.<\/p>\n Close-Up Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Close-ups are, as you probably guessed, close to the subject. This means you can focus your audience\u2019s attention on, say, the bride\u2019s blushes or the birthday boy\u2019s beam. But it\u2019s not just people, close-ups can be used for anything which you feel needs attention, like that awesomely-decorative birthday cake, say.<\/p>\n Extreme Shots<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are variations on the classic long, medium and close-up shots, these are the extreme shots. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re shooting the birthday cake in close-up \u2013 well an extreme close-up might only focus on the candles, or the delicate icing. An extreme long shot, on the other hand, has a massive scope that can cover an entire building. Or city. Or country. Or the world!<\/p>\n Ok, so those are the basic shot types \u2013 so, using them as a launchpad, let\u2019s look at how to use them in telling a story, and creating a visually pleasing movie.<\/p>\n Establishing Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n An establishing shot is vital for audiences, because it lets them know where the action is taking place. You\u2019ll see establishing shots at the beginning of pretty much every scene that requires a location change, or a time-shift from day to night. It\u2019s all about giving your audience context.<\/p>\n Cutaway Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cutaways are important for two reasons. Firstly, they give you something to, well, cutaway to when editing. Secondly, they emphasise a particular action. Cutaways show something which is not already in the master shot. Your master shot might focus on the birthday girl \u2013 the cutaway would be lighting the candles on a cake in the kitchen.<\/p>\n Insert or Cut-In Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n An insert shot is similar to a cutaway. Inserts are useful when editing, and highlight an action or emotion, but unlike their cutaway cousin, inserts retain focus on the subject. So when the birthday cake is brought in, the insert draws attention to a particular aspect or action, like a close-up of her mouth as she blows out the candles on the cake.<\/p>\n Ok, so let\u2019s take all of that knowledge, and now look at applying them to camera angles. There are few things worse than watching a home movie which is filmed solely at eye-level. It\u2019s uninspired and won\u2019t hold the audience\u2019s attention for long, which is why mixing it up with varying angles is the way to go.<\/p>\n Low-Angle Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A low-angle shot is one that \u2013 quelle surprise \u2013 is shot from below. The purpose of this is to imply dominance of the subject being filmed.<\/p>\n High-Angle Shot<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Want the opposite of a low-angle shot? Want to show a subject\u2019s vulnerability? The high-angle shot is the way to go.<\/p>\n Dutch Angle<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Creating a sense of foreboding in your viewers is pretty easy, although it\u2019s unlikely to go down well in a home video of your daughter\u2019s wedding. Tilting the camera at an angle, known as a Dutch angle, gives an impression of uneasiness \u2013 just don\u2019t over-use it!<\/p>\n Now you\u2019re ready to start filming every magical moment. Telling a story through film takes a lot more than just pointing and shooting. But with a dash of creativity, you can keep your viewers enthralled from the opening shot to the final fade. And if you want to convert your home movie masterpiece from VHS to DVD<\/a>, then we\u2019re on hand to offer our expertise. We specialise in format transfers to help create memories you\u2019ll want to watch again and again. To get the scoop on our services, simply contact us<\/a> on 0800 592 433 and we\u2019ll be delighted to help. In fact, nothing would give us greater pleasure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s true of all films, whether it\u2019s a Spielberg blockbuster, a Coen Brothers indie, or your niece\u2019s sixth birthday party, it\u2019s that movies have to tell a tale. That\u2019s their very purpose, after all; they\u2019re a visual story-telling medium. When you\u2019re filming that birthday party \u2013 or a wedding, or a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions\/270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}