The camera is directly above the subject (essentially a tighter version of the Bird’s Eye View). The shot below from David Fincher’s “Zodiac” is one of Ryan’s favorites. Usually done as some form of wide shot, this is where the camera is directly over the subject. This is the position of your camera relative to the subject in question.īird’s Eye View.

One of Ryan’s faves is this shot from “Se7en” where you can see Morgan Freeman’s eyes, as well as the reflection of the paper in his glasses.

It can be that of a hand or prop.Įxtreme Close-up (ECU): an even closer (tighter) shot, often of a subject’s eyes or mouth. It is used sparingly and is often on people’s faces, but it doesn’t have to be. Many dialog scenes are shot with MCUs.Ĭlose-up (CU): the subject fills the frame top to bottom. At this distance we can see the eyes more clearly, making the shot a lot more intimate. Medium Close-up (MCU): the framing is chest up. Medium Shot (MS): the subject is framed from the hips up. The “Cowboy Shot”: this is a version of the MWS that is called “the Cowboy” because the shot is cut off right where the person’s gun and holster would be. Medium Wide Shot (MWS): a “full shot” that is a bit closer such that the subject’s head and/or feet are cut off. Wide Shot (WS): the subject is now in focus but they’re not filling the frame.įull Shot (FS): a wide shot where your subject fills the frame, head to toe. Think of shots like a spaceship arriving to a planet or the entirety of a castle and the large army arriving to sack it. The shot types Ryan covers are not entirely exhaustive, but they cover the basics.Įxtreme Wide Shot (EWS): a shot far from the subject that takes in the entirety of the area. In this episode, Ryan covers five shot types: Shots are the words, coverage would be the collection of words to form that sentence, and editing is the arrangement of those words to form your sentence. In this series, Ryan uses the metaphor of writing a sentence to describe filmmaking. The next few episodes of Film Riot will cover some of those basics. That includes understanding shot types in filmmaking. For over a decade, Film Riot has been dedicated to helping aspiring filmmakers learn about all the tips and tricks that make Hollywood movies “tick.” But as every good filmmaker knows, understanding the foundational basics is paramount if you want to be successful at telling stories with the moving image.

Best cinematography shots in movies