Research into Shot Types

Different camera shots, angles, and movements keep the viewer interested in the product. A wider range of shot types will hook the viewer into the product because they will engage with it more. I have conducted some basic research into shot types so I will be able to produce a film for the website or an image for the newspaper that will engage with the audience. 

Since I have to make a moving image I wanted to refresh my basic grounding in shot types etc and I learnt some new angles as well. Although most news reports use eye line angles and barely use dramatic zooms, so that the audience isn't distracted from the main story, I am keen to create something new and fresh for my target audience; youth. Below is a fragment of the knowledge I have gained from my media course and the base from where I will plan and shoot my news clip.

Establishing shot - Used to set the scene.

Long Shot -  Shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of the surroundings.

Medium Long Shot - In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame line cuts off their feet and ankles.

Medium shots - In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist. Medium shots are frequently used for the tight presentation of two actors (the two shot), or with dexterity three (the three shot).

Close-up - A picture which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen.

Most newspapers use medium shots which gives enough detail about the subject without the picture becoming too blurry or the subject becoming too distant. I will stick to the same conventions. 

Angle of shot - The direction and height from which the camera takes the scene. 

In a high angle the camera looks down at a character, making the viewer feel more powerful than him or her, or suggesting an air of detachment. A low angle shot places camera below the character, exaggerating his or her importance. An overhead shot is one made from a position directly above the action.

Viewpoint - The apparent distance and angle from which the camera views and records the subject. 

Point-of-view shot - A shot made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot.

Two Shot - A shot of two people together.

Wide-angle shot - A shot of a broad field of action taken with a wide-angle lens.

Tilted shot - When the camera is tilted on its axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right, ordinary expectations are frustrated.

Zoom -  In zooming in the camera does not move; the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. Zooming out reveals more of the scene (perhaps where a character is, or to whom he or she is speaking) as the shot widens.

Following pan - The camera swivels (in the same base position) to follow a moving subject.

Surveying pan - The camera slowly searches the scene: may build to a climax or anticlimax.

Tilt - A vertical movement of the camera - up or down- while the camera mounting stays fixed.

Crab - The camera moves right or left.

Since newspapers want to create a sense of realism I will most likely be using medium close ups when taking photographs, and when filming using pans, tilts, and two shots to make the viewer feel like they are involved with the story.