30 Camera Shots

Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs To Know ... http://www.empireonline.
com/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-styles
1 of 4
Register | Log In | Sign up to our weekly newsletter Your email address

Like
272k
Follow @empiremagazine
Search
268K followers
Trending On Empire
Empire's 300th Issue: The Director's Cut
Hollywood Stars On Their Favourite Films
Vote: The Greatest 301 Movies Of All Time!
Daily Quiz
Movie News
Blogs
Reviews
Future Films
Features
Interviews
Images
Juliette Binoche:
My Movie Life
Mountain Dew
Green Screen
The actress picks the

movies that shaped her
See X-Men : Days Of

Future Past pre-release!
Competitions
Forum
iPad
Podcast
Magazine
SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRE MAGAZINE
The cinematographer's art often seems as much black magic as technique, taking a few actors milling around a set and turning
it into something cinematic, evocative and occasionally iconic. Amidst all the voodoo and mystery, however, there is concrete
science behind those money shots so we've identified thirty of the most important to help you distinguish your dolly zooms from
your Dutch tilts.
To celebrate our 25th

birthday, for one month
only we are giving you the
chance to subscribe to
Empire magazine at the
1989 price of 18 for the
whole year! Saving you
62% off the cover price!
Subscribe today
WORDS IAN FREER ILLUSTRATIONS OLLY GIBBS

Like
153
Tweet
295
1 2 3
1 of 3
Next
CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
24: The Story So Far

A definitive guide to all eight seasons
Why Sir Ian McKellen & Sir Patrick

Stewart Rule The Internet
The very best online moments of the
selfie-loving thesps
The Empire Podcast #109: Maisie
Williams And Domhnall Gleeson
Interviews
Plus the teams discuss the Star Wars
casting, Sam Mendes returning for Bond
24 and much more
Film Studies 101: A Beginner's Guide To
Aspect Ratios
From 2.39 to Pan and Scan, Empire can
explain all
An exterior shot filmed from hey! the air. Often used to

establish a (usually exotic) location. All films in the '70s open
with one FACT.
The opening of The Sound Of Music (1965). Altogether now,

The hills are alive..."
A shot in which the subject is circled by the camera. Beloved

by Brian De Palma, Michael Bay.
The shot in De Palma's Carrie (1976) where Carrie White

(Sissy Spacek) and Tommy Ross (William Katt) are dancing
at the prom. The swirling camera move represents her giddy
euphoria, see?
The Star Wars Archive: Harrison Ford

Interview
Everything you always wanted to ask the
master of the universe.
Tales From The Dark Side: The Making Of
The Empire Strikes Back
The inside story behind the biggest
gamble of George Lucas' career.
Kit Harington Takes Empire's IMDbunker
Quiz
Plus Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on his
many glorious deaths
IMPORTANT: Our Cookie Policy has changed. Please click here to view the policy and stop this banner appearing.
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:33 PM
Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs To Know ... http://www.empireonline.com/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-styles
2 of 4
A shot that denotes a shift in time or place, like a line moving

across an animated map. That line has more air miles than
Richard Branson.
A shot that keeps only the face full in the frame. Perhaps the
most important building block in cinematic storytelling.
12 Issues Of Empire
For Only 18
birthday, for one
month only we're
giving you the chance
to subscribe to Empire
at the 1989 price of
18 for the whole
year!
Subscribe today
Falconetti's face in The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928).

The journey from the US to Nepal in Raiders Of The Lost Ark
(1981).
Get The Empire iPad

Edition Today
Subscribe and save
money on annual
digital subscription
Subscribe today
Buy single issues
Empire Magazine
Like
272,602 people like Empire Magazine.
The shot that utilizes the most common framing in movies,

shows less than a long shot, more than a close-up.
Obviously.
Any John Ford film (i.e. The Searchers), the master of the
mid shot.
A shot that depicts an entire character or object from head to

foot. Not as long as an establishing shot. Aka a wide shot.
Omar Sharif approaching the camera on camel in David

Lean's Lawrence Of Arabia (1962).
A shot framed from mid thigh up, so called because of its

recurrent use in Westerns. When it comes, you know Clint
Eastwood is about to shoot your ass.
The three-way standoff in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
(1966).
268K followers
A shot that keeps the foreground, middle ground and

background ALL in sharp focus. Beloved by Orson Welles
(and cinematographer Gregg Toland). Production designers
hate them. Means they have to put detail in the whole set.
Thatcher (George Couloris) and Kane's mother (Agnes

Moorehead) discussing Charles (Buddy Swan)'s fate while
the young boy plays in the background in Citizen Kane
(1941).
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:33 PM
Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs To Know ... http://www.empireonline.com/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-styles
3 of 4
A shot that sees the camera track forward toward a subject

while simultaneously zooming out creating a woozy,
vertiginous effect. Initiated in Hitchcock's Vertigo (1959), it
also appears in such scarefests as Michael Jackson's Thriller
video (1983), Shaun Of The Dead (2004), The Evil Dead
(1981) and The Goofy Movie (1995). It is the cinematic
equivalent of the phrase "Uh-oh".
A shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create a

kooky angle. Often used to suggest disorientation. Beloved
by German Expressionism, Tim Burton, Sam Raimi and the
designers of the villains hideouts in '60s TV Batman.
The beginning of the laboratory scene in Bride Of

Frankenstein (1935).
Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) sees the Kintner kid

(Jeffrey Voorhees) get it in Jaws (1975). Not the first but the
best.
1 2 3
1 of 3
Next
For a more comprehensive insight into the world of cinema and to develop your
own moviemaking skills, take a look at one of the intensive courses available
through the New York Film Academy.
MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB
10 of the Most Controversial

Casting Decisions
7 Mind Blowing Movie Twists

(Celebrity Gossip Answers)
(The Richest)
Here Is The Main Casts For

Star Wars, Episode 7
(TEQY)
Dakota Johnson Reveals

What '50 Shades' Fans Can
Really Expect From Movie
(Stirring Daily)
9 Famous People Who Will

Inspire You to Never Give Up
10 Celebrities Without Their

Trademark Looks
10 Actors Who Turned Down

Legendary Roles
10 Stars and the Movies They

Regret
(The Muse)
(Your Daily Scoop)
Have Your Say

Register or login now to let us know what you think.
Your Comments
Check your facts!!!

A steadicam is not hydraulically balanced you guys should really check your facts. I expect much better from Empire. A steadicam is
balanced by an isoelastic arm using springs not hydraulics like you state. More
Posted by tom2201 on Wednesday February 5, 2014, 23:38
The Michael Bay shot II

A low shot in slight slow motion of someone standing up with the sun behind them. More
Posted by falseprophet7 on Saturday January 11, 2014, 22:23
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:33 PM
| Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs To Know... http://www.empireonline.com/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-sty...

Like
272k
Search
268K followers
Trending On Empire
Daily Quiz
Movie News
Blogs
Reviews
Future Films
Features
Interviews
Images
Juliette Binoche:
My Movie Life
Mountain Dew
Green Screen

See X-Men : Days Of

Competitions
Forum
iPad
Podcast
Magazine
Forum Home | Online Feedback | Magazine Feedback | iPad Feedback | Movie Poster Mashups | Movie Musings | Reviews | News | Future Films
Like
20
Tweet
1 2 3
Back
2 of 3
Next

Subscribe today
CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
The clue is in the name. A shot, at the head of the scene,

that clearly shows the locale the action is set in. Often comes
after the aerial shot. Beloved by TV directors and thick
people.
A shot in which the camera operator holds the camera during

motion to create a jerky, immediate feel. Beloved by Steven
Soderbergh and Paul Greengrass. It basically says, "This is
real life, baby".
The first glimpse of the prison in The Shawshank

Redemption (1994).
The pool hall fist fight in Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973).


Interviews
24 and much more
Aspect Ratios
explain all
Interview
A shot looking up at a character or subject often making

them look bigger in the frame. It can make everyone look
heroic and/or dominant. Also good for making cities look
empty.
A shot looking down on a character or subject often isolating

them in the frame. Nothing says Billy No Mates like a good
old high angle shot.
Little Charlie (Teresa Wright) realizes her uncle (Joseph
1 of 4

Quiz
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:33 PM
Darth Vader stomping around the Death Star corridors in Star

Wars Episode IV A New Hope (1977).
Cotton) is a serial killer in Hitchcock's Shadow Of A Doubt

(1943).
12 Issues Of Empire
For Only 18
birthday, for one
month only we're
18 for the whole
year!
Subscribe today
A shot where the camera is fixed in one position while the

action continues off-screen. It says life is messy and can not
be contained by a camera. Beloved by Woody Allen and the
dolly grips who can take the afternoon off.
A pre-existing shot of a location typically a wild animal

that is pulled from a library. Aka a "stock shot", it says this
film is old. Or cheap.
Every shot of an animal in a black and white Tarzan movie.

Ike (Woody Allen) and Mary (Diane Keaton) walk in and out
of shot whilst flirting.
Get The Empire iPad
Edition Today
Subscribe and save
money on annual
Subscribe today
Buy single issues
Empire Magazine
Like
A shot that incorporates foreground action with a

background, traditionally painted onto glass, now created in a
computer. Think the Raiders warehouse or the Ewok village
or Chris Hewitt's house.
A shot that is expensive to shoot but deemed worth it for its

potential to wow, startle and generate interest. In
pornography, it means something completely different.
268K followers
The White House blowing up in Independence Day (1996).

The final shot of 1968's Planet Of The Apes.
A shot where the camera is positioned behind one subject's

shoulder, usually during a conversation. It implies a
connection between the speakers as opposed to the single
shot that suggests distance.
A shot where the camera moves continuously right to left or

left to right. An abbreviation of "panning". Turns up a lot in
car chases and on You've Been Framed (worth 250 if they
use a clip).
The opening of The Godfather (1972).
Brian de Palma's Blow Out (1981) a 360 degree pan in

Jack Terry (John Travolta)'s sound studio.
2 of 4
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:33 PM

Like
272k
Search
268K followers
Trending On Empire
Daily Quiz
Like
115
Movie News
Tweet
Blogs
Reviews
Future Films
Features
Interviews
Images
Juliette Binoche:
My Movie Life
Mountain Dew
Green Screen

See X-Men : Days Of

Competitions
Forum
iPad
Podcast
Magazine
28
1 2 3
Back
3 of 3

Subscribe today
CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
A shot that depicts the point of view of a character so that we

see exactly what they see. Often used in Horror cinema to
see the world through a killer's eyes.
The opening of Halloween (1978) told from the point of view

of the child Michael Myers (Will Sandin).
A long shot that covers a scene in its entirety in one

continuous sweep without editing.
The 3 min 20 secs opening of Touch Of Evil (1958) in which

Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) and Susie (Janet Leigh)
cross paths with a car carrying a ticking bomb.


Interviews
24 and much more
Aspect Ratios
explain all
Interview
A shot from a hydraulically balanced camera that allows for a

smooth, fluid movement. Around since the late '70s, invented
by Garrett Brown. Beloved by Stanley Kubrick, Brian De
Palma, Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuaron. A lengthy
Steadicam shot is the directorial equivalent of "Look ma, no
hands!"
A shot where the camera moves continuously Up to Down or

Down To Up. A vertical panning shot. A tilt to the sky is
traditionally a last shot in a movie.
The last shot of Robert Altman's Nashville (1975).
1 of 4

Quiz
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:34 PM
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) taking his new girl (Lorraine Braco)
through the Copa by the back entrance in Goodfellas (1990).
If you have the time, also see Russian Ark, a 99 minute
Steadicam shot.
12 Issues Of Empire
For Only 18
birthday, for one
month only we're
18 for the whole
year!
Subscribe today
A shot looking directly down on a scene rather than at an

angle. Also known as a Birds-Eye-View shot. Beloved by
Busby Berkeley to shoot dance numbers in patterns
resembling snowflakes.
The camera moving over the carnage left by Travis Bickle at

the end of Taxi Driver (1976).
A shot that follows a subject be it from behind or alongside or

in front of the subject. Not as clumsy or random as a panning
shot, an elegant shot for a more civilized age. Beloved by
Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Terence Davies, Paul
Thomas Anderson.
The dolly shots in the trenches during Stanley Kubrick's

Paths Of Glory (1957).
Get The Empire iPad

Edition Today
Subscribe and save
money on annual
Subscribe today
Buy single issues
Empire Magazine
Like
A medium shot that depicts two people in the frame. Used

primarily when you want to establish links between
characters or people who are beside rather than facing each
other.
268K followers
A shot that is the same as a pan but is so fast that picture

blurs beyond recognition. Usually accompanied by a whoosh
sound. Beloved by Sam Raimi and Edgar Wright.
Any one of a dozen sequences in Hot Fuzz (2007).

Quiz Kid Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) and Thurston
Howell (Henry Gibson) discuss love in Magnolia (1999).
A shot deploying a lens with a variable focal length that

allows the cinematographer to change the distance between
A shot where the camera is placed on a crane or jib and

moved up or down. Think a vertical tracking shot. Beloved by
2 of 4
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:34 PM
camera and object without physically moving the camera.

Also see Crash Zooms that do the same but only quicker.
The slow descending zoom that picks out Mark (Frederic

Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams) out of a crowd in The
Conversation (1974).
directors of musicals. Often used to highlight a character's

loneliness or at the end of a movie, the camera moving away
as if saying goodbye.
Gone With The Wind (1939). As Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien

Leigh) arrives at the train depot, the camera heads skyward
to reveal hundreds of wounded confederate soldiers around
her.
Back to the Film Studies 101 hub
1 2 3
Back
3 of 3
For a more comprehensive insight into the world of cinema and to develop your
own moviemaking skills, take a look at one of the intensive courses available
through the New York Film Academy.
MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB
10 Stars and the Movies They

Regret
10 Actors Who Turned Down

Legendary Roles
(Your Daily Scoop)
Taking the potluck challenge

pledge? Try these 5 delicious
party themes.
7 Mind Blowing Movie Twists

(Better food for all)
Here Is The Main Casts For

Star Wars, Episode 7
12 Worst On-Screen
Chemistry Couples Ever!
Treat a patient 3,000 miles

away
9 Famous People Who Will

Inspire You to Never Give Up
(TEQY)
(Fame10)
(BBC)
(The Muse)
Have Your Say

Register or login now to let us know what you think.
Your Comments
Check your facts!!!

A steadicam is not hydraulically balanced you guys should really check your facts. I expect much better from Empire. A steadicam is
balanced by an isoelastic arm using springs not hydraulics like you state. More
Posted by tom2201 on Wednesday February 5, 2014, 23:38
The Michael Bay shot II

A low shot in slight slow motion of someone standing up with the sun behind them. More
Posted by falseprophet7 on Saturday January 11, 2014, 22:23
Aerial Shot
We love how the Aerial Shot starts it off! More
Posted by SkyCamUsa on Thursday January 9, 2014, 18:00
The Leone EXTREME close-up

Has to have it's own category, the squinting eyes, the twitching facial muscles, the tension, the agendas and machinations of each
protagonist writ large but only revealed to the audience... More
Posted by Moonbucket on Sunday December 29, 2013, 14:02
The dolly zoom in The Fellowship of the ring is one of my recent favourites. More
Posted by apensiveman on Sunday December 29, 2013, 12:34
The Spike Lee

What about the Spike Lee shot? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu9-UymSApM More
Posted by AishaRh on Tuesday December 24, 2013, 23:21
3 of 4
View Cookie Policy
Ask Me Later
5/8/2014 4:34 PM

30 Camera Shots

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

30 Camera Shots

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

30 Camera Shots

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs To Know ... http://www.empireonline.

Register | Log In | Sign up to our weekly newsletter Your email address

The actress picks the

See X-Men : Days Of

SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRE MAGAZINE

To celebrate our 25th

WORDS IAN FREER ILLUSTRATIONS OLLY GIBBS

24: The Story So Far

Why Sir Ian McKellen & Sir Patrick

An exterior shot filmed from hey! the air. Often used to

The opening of The Sound Of Music (1965). Altogether now,

A shot in which the subject is circled by the camera. Beloved

The shot in De Palma's Carrie (1976) where Carrie White

The Star Wars Archive: Harrison Ford

View Cookie Policy

A shot that denotes a shift in time or place, like a line moving

Falconetti's face in The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928).

Get The Empire iPad

272,602 people like Empire Magazine.

The shot that utilizes the most common framing in movies,

A shot that depicts an entire character or object from head to

Omar Sharif approaching the camera on camel in David

A shot framed from mid thigh up, so called because of its

A shot that keeps the foreground, middle ground and

Thatcher (George Couloris) and Kane's mother (Agnes

View Cookie Policy

A shot that sees the camera track forward toward a subject

A shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create a

The beginning of the laboratory scene in Bride Of

Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) sees the Kintner kid

MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB

10 of the Most Controversial

7 Mind Blowing Movie Twists

Here Is The Main Casts For

Dakota Johnson Reveals

9 Famous People Who Will

10 Celebrities Without Their

10 Actors Who Turned Down

10 Stars and the Movies They

(Celebrity Gossip Answers)

(Your Daily Scoop)

(Celebrity Gossip Answers)

Have Your Say

Check your facts!!!

The Michael Bay shot II

View Cookie Policy

Register | Log In | Sign up to our weekly newsletter Your email address

The actress picks the

See X-Men : Days Of

SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRE MAGAZINE

To celebrate our 25th

The clue is in the name. A shot, at the head of the scene,

A shot in which the camera operator holds the camera during

The first glimpse of the prison in The Shawshank

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

24: The Story So Far

Why Sir Ian McKellen & Sir Patrick

A shot looking up at a character or subject often making

A shot looking down on a character or subject often isolating