Angles and Movement


Angles: 

High angle

High angles are angles shot from above the character or subject in a shot. This is most commonly used to express lonliness or isolation.

 Example:

 The use of high angle shots in "Scrubs"

 Canted angle 

A canted angle is an angle that is deliberately slanted to one side, usually with the goal of disorientating an audience. This is also known as a 'dutch angle'.

 Example:

The use of canted angle shots in Slumdog Millionaire.
Low angle 

A low angle is an angle that's 'looking up' at a character or subject. This is usually used to establish heroism or dominance.

 Example:

 Darth Vader navigating the corridors of the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (1977).

 Movement: 

Pan 

A pan is a shot where the camera continously moves from either left to right or right to left. These are often used to portray movement, and are commonly used in car chase scenes.

Example:


Brian de Palma's Blow Out (1981)

Tilt

A tilt is a vertical panning shot- a shot that moves from down to up or up to down. A tilt to the sky is a common last shot in many movies.

Example:


The last shot of Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). 


Tracking

A tracking shot is a shot that follows- or 'tracks'- a subject, either from behind, alongside or in front of a subject. Usually seen as more 'elegant' than a panning shot. 

Example:



The dolly shots in the trenches during Stanley Kubrick's Paths Of Glory (1957).

Dolly

A dolly shot is a shot where the camera, while zooming into the subject, moves towards the subject. This is often used to disorientate the viewer, and is used in works from Vertigo to Shaun Of The Dead.

Example:


Jaws (1975)- the scene where Police Chief Brody watches a child get eaten by a shark.

Crane

A crane shot resembles a vertical tracking shot- the camera is placed on a crane and moved up and down. Often used as a way of saying 'goodbye', and in musicals.

Example:


Gone With The Wind (1939). 

Steadicam

A 'steadicam' camera is a camera invented in the late 70s by Garrett Brown. This is a hydraulically balanced camera that allows for smooth, fluid movement.

Example:


Goodfellas (1990)

Handheld

A shot where the camera operator uses a handheld camera, often invoking a jerky, realistic feeling.

Example:


The pool hall fist fight in Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973).


Zoom

A zoom is a shot that uses a lens that allows a cinematographer adjust the distance between the camera and the subject without physically moving the camera. It can change a long shot to a medium shot, or a medium shot to a close-up.

 Example:


The opening shot from The Conversation (1974), which uses a zoom to slowly focus in on our protagonists.

Reverse Zoom

A reverse zoom is essentially the same thing as a dolly zoom.

Example:


The same example given in the Dolly Zoom-  Jaws (1975)- the scene where Police Chief Brody watches a child get eaten by a shark.

Crab

A crab shot is a shot where the camera moves from side to side- unlike a dolly shot, where the camera moves forwards and backwards.

 Example:

Found on Youtube.


Whip pan

A whip pan is the same as a regular pan, but faster- to the point where the picture blurs. Commonly accompanied by a sound effect, and used frequently by Edgar Wright.

 Example:

The opening of Hot Fuzz, the second film in the Cornetto Trilogy. 

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