This type of shot gives an audience aīasic orientation to the geography of a scene-who is where-after which there The XCU shot may show just the eyes of an individual.Īll of these designations can also apply to objects, as in "close-up of toaster shows toast popping up."Ī boom shot, jib shot, or crane shot refer to high-angle shots, (To save space we've used a vertical rather than a horizontal format for this photo.)Ī medium shot ( MS) is normally a shot from the waist up.Ī medium close-up ( MCU) is a shot cropped between the shoulders and the belt line.Ī close-up ( CU) is the most desirable to catch changing facial expressions, which are important to following a conversation.Įxtreme close-ups ( XCUs) are reserved for dramatic impact. With people, this is a shot from the top of their heads to at least their feet.
Sometimes you also see the term moving shot to indicate that the camera moves in some way during the course of a scene In film, both the dolly and truck movement are often referred to as tracking shots. When a lateral move is needed, the term is truck (note the illustration above). To indicate either one, a script notation might say, "camera zooms in for close-up of John," or "camera zooms out to show that John is not alone." Even so, many Directors of Photography feel that compared to a dolly, a zoom is somewhat artificial looking. When the entire camera is moved toward or away from the subject, it's referred to as a dolly.Ī zoom, which is an optical version of a dolly, achieves somewhat the same effect. Game to a shot of the cheerleaders, the coach, or cheering fans.Īlthough scriptwriters sometimes feel an urge to indicate camera shots and angles on a script, this is an area that's best left to the judgment of the director.Įven so, in dramatic scripts you will often see the terms camera finds indicate the camera moves in on a particular portion of a scene camera goes with to indicate the camera moves with a person or object reverse angle to indicate a near 180-degree shift in camera position and shot widens to signal a zoom or dolly back. For example, after a man looks at his watch, you might see a cut to close-up of the watch where you can clearly see the time.Ī cutaway is a related shot that is "away" from the basic scene.ĭuring a basketball game you might "cut away" from the Where (for television) commercials are inserted.Īn insert shot is a close-up of something within the scene. Fade-ins and fade-outs within the production can signal a major change or division within the story structure, such as a passage of time.Īnd, as we've noted, they can also indicate a division in the story structure Traditionally, screenplays (dramatic film scripts) start with fade in and close with fade out. fade-out consists of a two-or three-second transition from a picture to black and silence and, of course, a fade-in is the opposite lap-dissolves, also called dissolves - where two scenes momentarily overlap during a transition from one to the other.cuts - instantaneous changes from one scene to the next,.