DISTANCE / SIZE:

• EXTREME CLOSE UP (XCU): A shot that shows just a small part of the subject's face.
  
  
• LONG SHOT (LS): A shot showing an entire subject AND places it in relation to its surrounding.
  
  
• BIG CLOSE UP (BCU): A shot that shows only the entire head from the chin up
  
  
• CLOSE UP (CU): A shot that shows the entire head from the shoulders up
  
  
• EXTREME LONG SHOT (XLS): A shot where the subject is so small it is indistinct in a very large surrounding.
  
  
• FULL SHOT (FS): A shot that includes the full human body with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.
  
  
• MEDIUM CLOSE UP (MCU): A shot that shows the subject from the chest to the top of the head
  
  
• MEDIUM LONG SHOT (MLS): A shot where the subject is distinct, but with considerable head and foot room.
  
  
• MEDIUM SHOT (MS): A shot that shows the subject from the waist to the top of the head
  
  
• THREE-QUARTER SHOT: A shot that shows the subject from the knees to the top of the head
  
  

CAMERA POSITION

• FRONT ANGLE: A head-on frontal view makes us feel really engaged with the subject. It’s often used as a subjective shot, where we see the person as if we’re looking through the eyes of another character.
  
  
• THREE-QUARTER ANGLE: With a three-quarter shot the viewers are a bit less involved when compared to Front Angle.
  
  
• PROFILE ANGLE: In a side view its more as if we’re just watching them as an observer.
  
  
• REAR ANGLE: A back view can mean several things: we’re seeing them from the view of a watcher; they are ignoring another character, or they are upset and vulnerable and hiding their emotions.
  
  

CAMERA ANGLE

• BIRDS EYE SHOT: A shot with the camera is directly above the scene facing straight down.
  
  
• DUTCH TILT: A shot where the camera is tilted creating stress and tension.
  
  
• EYE LEVEL SHOT: A shot with the camera located at eye level of the subject
  
  
• HIGH ANGLE SHOT (HA): A shot with the camera above and looking down on the subject, tending to reduce its importance or size.
  
  
• LOW ANGLE SHOT: A shot with the camera located below and looking up on the subject, tending to make it seem dominant or powerful.
  
  
• WORM'S EYE VIEW: A shot with the camera directly under the subject, opposite of the bird's eye view.
  
  

• WIDE ANGLE: A lens or a setting on a zoom lens that minimizes subjects and magnifies apparent depth by filling the frame with a wide angle of view.
  
  
• NORMAL: A lens or a setting on a zoom lens that reproduces a field of view that appears "natural" to a human observer.
  
  
• TELEPHOTO: A lens or a setting on a zoom lens that magnifies subjects and minimizes apparent depth by filling the frame with a narrow angle of view.
  
  

SHOT PURPOSE

• ESTABLISHING SHOT: A long shot which is used to convey the place, time or environment of a scene about to be shown
  
  
• OVER-THE-SHOULDER SHOT: A shot where the camera is behind one subject so the shoulder is visible in the foreground and the face of another subject is in the background.
  
  
• POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT: A camera shot that shows what the character is looking at from his viewpoint.
  
  
• REACTION SHOT: Close-up of a character's reaction to events.
  
  
• MASTER SHOT: Recording of an entire scene from start to finish from an angle that keeps all the action in view.
  
  
• CUT-AWAY SHOT: A shot which is used to show a different view of the main action in a scene.
  
  

SHOT POPULATION

• SINGLE SHOT: A shot which shows one character in the frame.

• TWO-SHOT: A shot which shows two characters in the frame, used to show emotional reactions between subjects.

• THREE SHOT: A shot which shows three characters in the frame, usually in medium shots.
  
  

FOCUS

• FOLLOW FOCUS: Controlling the focus of the lens, so that the image of an object is continuously kept sharp and clear.