Camera angles and conventions

Technique	What does it mean?	Why Might it be used
Establishing shot	Gets a clear view on area being shown. Establishes setting.	To make an audience clear on where the action is taking place
Close up	Camera zooms in on a particular area. Person, setting ,etc.	To make sure the audience are clear on the subject for dramatic use.
Two shot	Where two people are in the frame	To show conversation or action between both people
Aerial shot	Shot from above	Show a shot or scene from a birds eyes view. Gaining knowledge of set/scene
Point- of – view shot	Point of view of the character involved	To make it feel like the audience is there in the shot.
Over the shoulder shot	Camera over characters shoulder	Suspense, point f view, understanding of what is going on to scale
High Angle	Up above looking down on something	To make something look small or make someone seem inferior
Low angle	Down below looking up at something	To make something look big or make someone look superior
Canted angle	Strange or unusual angle	Get different, quirky effects
Pan	Camera Moves horizontally but in a fixed position	Looks across a place or a setting/scene
Tilt	Camera moves from bottom of object to the top	Get the whole view of a person/building/object. Especially on a large scale.
Track	Camera moves along side the action, following the actor etc.	Get the whole movement sequence, for example someone running a 100m race
Crane	Camera Moves but is high and looking down	Gets a broad shot of a scene/ setting
Steadicam	Camera on a pod	For a steady, intricate and still scene
Handheld	Camera is held in someones hand	Used for POV (point of view) make it realistic. Could be used in a horror
Zoom	Close up on a specific area	Dramatic effect or pin pointing a certain area or look.

Technique	What does it mean?	Why Might it be used
Voice Over	Voice over the media, commentry	To set a story setting, narrating, commentating on a game
Jump cut	Camera jumps from one time to another	Not bore the audience by showing a long sequence. Eg someone walking a long journey
Cross Cutting	Shot from one side of something to another. For example someone opening a door	Someone opening a door from side A, walking through and finishing side B.
Dissolve	Scene disappearing or fading slowly. Quite often in to a black back ground	To fade away the credits. Move to another scene
Shot take	Short section shown of a scene	Portray action and excitement  and is always changing
Cutting Rate	How fast or slow the cuts are together	Fast=Dramatic and alot of action                                    Slow=more serious, usually more dialogue
Motivated Cut	A cut to see what someone is looking at which is not yet in view.	To see someones reaction, add suspension as you cant yet see what they are reacting to
Slow Motion	Everything is slowed down considerably	Shows drama, action, explosion possibly
Sound Bridge	Music carrying over from one scene to another	Links scenes together
Reverse Zoom	Coming out of a close up or zoom	Get overall view on area, starts zoomed then moves out to reveal whole area/space/setting
Ambient sound	Back ground sound, setting the mood and tone	Certain music to portray a scene. Eg scary=whistling (eeriness)
Score	The pitch of the music	Adds an effect to reflect the action being shown
Properties	Added equipment. Otherwise known as props	Portrays a role. Could show society, class,gender, stereotype
Reaction shot	To show someones reaction to something happening	So we can see their reaction and emotion following an action being involved in the scene
Diagetic sound	The sound is actually there in the scene	Show whats happening in a scene. Big band playing, they will play actual music
Non-Diagetic sound	Sound added after in editing	Sound thats added to a scene to make it seem more dramatic/ more calm etc.