Types of shots my group and I learned about during lessons.

In order for my group and I to achieve the most effective suspenseful shots whilst filming our two minute thriller opening, we were taken through the different varieties of camera shots during some of our media lessons.

This proved very effective since we were able to encorperate a lot of the shots that were taught to us, into our thriller opening, for example, we used an over the shoulder shot when the villian in our film looks up towards the mirror infront of him, this creates suspense since it almost feels as though we are behind the character, therefore we feel physically closer to them and thus more in danger if the character is a villian. We see this sort of shot in the film 'The Stepfather'.



However, in addition to learning different camera shots to create a more successful thriller opening, we also gained knowledge on a variety of shots in order to generally improve our knowledge on what each shot is used for and how these shots have been demonstrated within films that have already been created.

For example,  we learnt about ariel shots, which is were the camera is above its subject, therefore the audience feel as though they are looking down on something/someone.



Ariel shot.



 Furthermore, we learnt how to do point of view (POV) shots which is a camera shot used to make the audience see things through a certain characters point of view.  



Point of view shot.







We also learnt about high and low angle shots, high angle shots make people seem smaller and therefore, more weak and vulnerable because the camera is overhead looking down on someone, whereas, a low angle shot gives a great sense of power and dominance since the camera is closer to the ground, looking up towards someone which makes them appear larger and thus more powerful. 



High Angle shot





Low Angle shot.



Moreover, we gained skills on how to achieve a tracking shot, this is when the camera moves along whilst following a moving subject and we also learnt how to pan, which is when the camera is on a fixed point whilst swivelling right or left.





Tracking shot





Panning shot



We also gained knowledge on how to achieve a close up shot, medium shot, long shot and establishing shot. Close up shots are camera shots that are typically used to only show certain aspects of a subject i.e. a hand or a face. Close up shots do not show the subject in the broad context of its surrounding, therefore the shot may only contain a persons face for example, this is to show more detail such as emotions. Medium shots, on the other hand, are camera shots that are filmed from a medium distance, a medium shot is usually framed from the waist upwards and is mainly used for a scene when you can see what kind of expressions a character is using. A long shot is typically used to show the entire object or human figure. Lastly, an establishing shot is used to set up, or establish the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects.



Medium Shot



Close Up



Establishing Shot



Long Shot