1. MEDIA KEY TERMS
Images and Definitions for Revision
PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
PART B: CAMERA ANGLES
PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
PART D: COMPOSITION

2. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Aerial shot
A camera shot taken from an overhead position (usually from quite a far distance like in a helicopter).
Often used as establishing shots to establish cities or places in city.

3. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Establishing shot
Establishes setting of a scene, often giving viewer information about where scene is set. Can be range of
distances from wide/long shot of whole city or wide shot of a place in a city or shot of house or even close up
of a sign. Usually at the beginning of a scene to give clarity to audience of the setting.

4. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Two shot
Of two characters communicating, interacting or conversing. Usually to signify or show a relationship between
the two characters. (doesn’t always have to be humans)

5. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Mid/medium shot
Framing of a character or subject of their torso (mostly torso and head but could be torso and legs)

6. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Point of View
Shows a view from the character’s perspective, edited in such a way that the audience are aware of who the
character is (for example they would show a reverse shot of that character)

7. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Long shot
Framing of a character or subject of their whole body

8. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Close up Shot
Framing of a character or subject of some particular part of their body or object such as face, hand, details of
an object like a plate.

9. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Over the shoulder shot
A shot which is filmed as if it is from the back of a character’s shoulder. The character facing the subject usually
occupies 1/3 of the frame but it could vary depending on purpose. For example if the shot is to show the
character facing the audience is very inferior perhaps they would only occupy ¼ of the shot.

10. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Overhead Shot
A type of camera shot in which the camera is placed above a character, action or object being filmed. Distances
could vary. (like birds eye view)

11. PART A: CAMERA SHOTS
• Extreme close up shot
A shot that is of a part of body or face to show extreme detail to audience to give them more information or
detail about a character or object.

12. PART B: CAMERA ANGLES
• Low angle
An angle that taken from a lower place that looks up at character or subject, often used to make the character
or subject appear bigger/more dominant/powerful etc.

13. PART B: CAMERA ANGLES
• High Angle
An angle that taken from a higher place that looks down at character or subject, often used to make the
character or subject appear smaller/vulnerable/weak etc.

14. PART B: CAMERA ANGLES
• Canted or Oblique angle
Camera angle that makes what is shot to appear skewed or tilted, could be used to disorientate the audience

15. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Pan
When camera pivots horizontally either from left to right or right to left to reveal more information (reveal
more of a setting for example) It can be used to give viewer a panoramic view, sometimes used to establish a
scene that can’t fit in one shot/frame.

16. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Tilt
Opposite to pan: When camera pivots vertically either from top to bottom or bottom to top to reveal more
information (reveal more of a setting for example) It can be used to give viewer more information/view about
settings, objects, characters etc. Often used to reveal a whole outfit of a character.

17. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Track
Movement of camera that moves from side to side without a pivot to follow an object or character. Can
include smooth movements from side to side, frontwards, backwards or even on a curve but cannot include
complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ is referred to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the
camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.

18. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Dolly
When a camera moves in and out (not track and not zoom) or backwards and forwards on an object called a
dolly which is like a tripod with wheels

19. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Crane

20. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Stedicam
A stabilizing mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator’s movement from the
camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when operator is moving quickly or on uneven surface. Used when
tripod cannot be used or at high action filming such as sporting events so there is not shaky camera
movements.

21. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Zoom
When the camera feature zoom goes in towards an object or character to reveal more significance or detail.
Speed of zoom can vary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni5LdzvLY7o slower zoom
Example: fast zoom in on characters face in ‘The Ring’ opening sequence

22. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Reverse Zoom
Opposite of zoom. Often called ‘zoom out’ When the camera feature zoom goes out away from an object or
character to reveal more details/setting around them. Speed of zoom can vary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_edwbetOlfU&feature=related
Example: slow reverse zoom (or zoom out) in ‘Psycho’ when the camera zooms out from the dead girl’s eye in
the shower to reveal her dead body.

23. PART C: CAMERA MOVEMENT
• Vertigo
A movement which is zooming and dollying at same time. For example dolly out, zoom in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAhGM2Fyl8Q&feature=related

24. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Balance
Balance is arranging elements so that no one part of a work overpowers, or seems heavier than any other part.
The three different kinds of balance are symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Symmetrical (or formal) balance
is when both sides of an artwork, if split down the middle, appear to be the same. The human body is an
example of symmetrical balance. The asymmetrical balance is the balance that does not weigh equally on both
sides. Radial balance is equal in length from the middle. An example is the sun.*
*from wikipedia
The way we carefully place objects or subjects in a frame to show balance or equalness in colour, size or
texture.
Balance in Shapes Balance in size Balance in colour

25. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Symmetry (connected to balance)
When the shot (or frame) is equally symmetrical or balanced on both sides. Both sides look nearly identical on
both sides. Often used in filming to show order, normalness or organisation.

26. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Asymmetry (connected to balance)
When the shot (or frame) is equally asymmetrical or unbalanced on both sides. Both sides look different on
both sides. Often used in filming to show disorder, chaos or various objects, characters or subjects.

27. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a compositional rule in visual arts such as painting, photography, film and design. The rule
states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines
and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these
lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points
creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.*
*from wikipedia

28. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Depth of field
In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the
nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. Although a lens can precisely
focus at only one distance at a time, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused
distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.*
*from wikipedia
Depth of field is distance which is in focus = the writing picture has shallow depth
Of field because it is only a small amount in focus. 

29. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Focus pulls
focus pull (AKA rack focus) is a creative camera technique in which you change focus during a shot. Usually this
means adjusting the focus from one subject to another.
• The shot below begins focused on the plant in the foreground, then adjusts focus until the girl is sharp.

30. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Shallow focus
Shallow focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique incorporating a small depth of field. In
shallow focus one plane of the image is in focus while the rest is out of focus. Shallow focus is typically
used to emphasize one part of the image over another. Photographers sometimes refer to the aesthetic
character of the area that is out of focus as bokeh.
*from wikipedia

31. PART D: COMPOSITION
• Deep focus
The opposite of shallow focus is deep focus, in which the entire image is in focus. Consequently, in deep focus
the foreground, middle-ground and background are all in focus.
*from wikipedia