1

1he Language of the Camera: Shots & Ang|es

Lxtreme |ong shot
Can be Laken from as much as a quarLer of a mlle
away, and ls generally used as a scene-seLLlng,
esLabllshlng shoL. lL normally shows an Lx1L8lC8, eg
Lhe ouLslde of a bulldlng, or a landscape.
1hls ls commonly called an Lstab||sh|ng Shot
A shoL LhaL shows Lhe envlronmenL ln whlch Lhe acLlon
wlll Lake place, usually early ln Lhe scene or aL Lhe sLarL of Lhe show.
Master Shot
A master shot ls a fllmlc recordlng of an enLlre scene, sLarL Lo flnlsh, from an angle LhaL
keeps all Lhe players ln vlew. ln 1v urama, we ofLen reLurn Lo Lhe MasLer ShoL Lo break up
scnenes.

Long Shot
1he mosL dlfflculL Lo preclsely caLegorlse, buL generally one whlch
shows Lhe lmage as approxlmaLely "llfe" slze le correspondlng Lo
Lhe real dlsLance beLween Lhe audlence and Lhe screen. 1hls
caLegory lncludes Lhe luLL SPC1 showlng Lhe enLlre human body,
wlLh Lhe head near Lhe Lop of Lhe frame and Lhe feeL near Lhe
boLLom.



Med|um Shot]M|d Shot
ConLalns a flgure from Lhe knees/walsL up and ls normally used for dlalogue scenes, or Lo
show some deLall of acLlon. varlaLlons on Lhls lnclude Lhe
1WC SnC1 (conLalnlng Lwo flgures from Lhe walsL up) and
Lhe 1nkLL SnC1 (conLalns 3 flgures...). n8. Any more Lhan
Lhree flgures and Lhe shoL Lends Lo become a long shoL.
AnoLher varlaLlon ln Lhls caLegory ls Lhe CVLk-1nL-
SnCULDLk-SnC1, whlch poslLlons Lhe camera behlnd one
flgure, reveallng Lhe oLher flgure, and parL of Lhe flrsL flgure's
back, head and shoulder. - Lhls ls ofLen used ln conversaLlon.
2

C|ose-Up
1hls shows very llLLle background, and concenLraLes on elLher a
face, or a deLall of mlse en scene. 1hls shoL magnlfles Lhe ob[ecL
and shows Lhe lmporLance of Lhlngs, be lL words wrlLLen on
paper, or Lhe expresslon on someone's face. 1he close-up Lakes
us lnLo Lhe mlnd of a characLer. ln reallLy, we only leL people LhaL
we really LrusL geL 1PA1 close Lo our face - moLhers, chlldren and
lovers, usually - so a close up of a face ls a very lnLlmaLe shoL. A
dlrecLor may use Lhls Lo make us feel exLra comforLable or
exLremely uncomforLable abouL a characLer.

Lxtreme C|ose-Up
As lLs name suggesLs, an exLreme verslon of Lhe close up, generally
magnlfylng beyond whaL Lhe human eye would experlence ln
reallLy. An exLreme close-up of a face, for lnsLance, would show only
Lhe mouLh or eyes.

W|de Shot


ln Lhe !"#$ &'(), Lhe sub[ecL Lakes up Lhe full frame. ln Lhls case,
Lhe glrl's feeL are almosL aL Lhe boLLom of frame, and her head
ls almosL aL Lhe Lop. Cbvlously Lhe sub[ecL doesn'L Lake up Lhe
whole wldLh and helghL of Lhe frame, slnce Lhls ls as close as we
can geL wlLhouL loslng any parL of her. 1hls shoL Lakes ln much
or all of Lhe acLlon ln Lhe full space allowed wlLhln Lhe scene.


o|nt of v|ew Shot

1hls ls a shoL whlch shows characLer's polnL of vlew. A shoL where we appear Lo be looklng
Lhrough Lhe characLer's eyes, from hls or her polnL of vlew. lL ls ofLen used ln crlme drama Lo
show Lhe klller or vlcLlm's perspecLlve



Shot keverse Shot

Camera cuLs beLween Lwo characLers - a popular cholce ln conversaLlon sequences ln many
1v dramas.


keact|on Shot

usually a close up, reacLlon Lo scrlpL or evenL
3


Insert Shot
ShoL showlng lmporLanL deLall e.g. a clock, sLreeL slgn. CfLen places audlence ln a prlvlleged
poslLlon

Cutaway
Camera cuLs away from maln acLlon Lo elsewhere and lnLerrupLs conLlnulLy, used ofLen as a
'meanwhlle shoL'. Whlle Lhls was golng on ln one place, Lhls was golng on elsewhere.


CAMLkA ANGLLS

1he relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe camera and Lhe ob[ecL belng phoLographed (le Lhe AnCLL)
glves emoLlonal lnformaLlon Lo an audlence, and guldes Lhelr [udgmenL abouL Lhe characLer
or ob[ecL ln shoL. 1he more exLreme Lhe angle (le Lhe furLher away lL ls from eye lefL), Lhe
more symbollc and heavlly-loaded Lhe shoL.
1he 8|rd's-Lye v|ew ]Aer|a| shot
1hls shows a scene from dlrecLly overhead, a very
unnaLural and sLrange angle. lamlllar ob[ecLs vlewed from
Lhls angle mlghL seem LoLally unrecognlsable aL flrsL
(umbrellas ln a crowd, dancers' legs). 1hls shoL does,
however, puL Lhe audlence ln a godllke poslLlon, looklng
down on Lhe acLlon. eople can be made Lo look lnslgnlflcanL,
anL-llke, parL of a wlder scheme of Lhlngs.




n|gh Ang|e
noL so exLreme as a blrd's eye vlew. 1he camera ls elevaLed above Lhe acLlon uslng a crane
Lo glve a general overvlew. Plgh angles make Lhe ob[ecL phoLographed seem smaller, and
less slgnlflcanL (or scared). 1he ob[ecL or characLer ofLen geLs swallowed up by Lhelr seLLlng -
Lhey become parL of a wlder plcLure.


4

Lye Leve|
A falrly neuLral shoL, Lhe camera ls poslLloned as Lhough lL ls a human acLually observlng a
scene, so LhaL for example acLors' heads are on a level wlLh Lhe focus. 1he camera wlll be
placed approxlmaLely flve Lo slx feeL from Lhe ground.





Low Ang|e
Low angles help Lo glve characLers a sense of power and
lmporLance. 1he background of a low angle shoL wlll Lend Lo be [usL
sky or celllng, Lhe lack of deLall abouL Lhe seLLlng addlng Lo Lhe
dlsorlenLaLlon of Lhe vlewer and promlnence of Lhe characLer. 1he
added helghL of Lhe ob[ecL may make lL lnsplre fear and lnsecurlLy
ln Lhe vlewer, who ls psychologlcally domlnaLed by Lhe flgure on Lhe
screen.


Cb||que]Canted Ang|e
SomeLlmes Lhe camera ls LllLed (le ls noL placed horlzonLal Lo floor
level), Lo suggesL lmbalance, LranslLlon and lnsLablllLy. 1hls
Lechnlque ls ofLen used as a Cln1-Cl-vlLW shoL (le when Lhe
camera becomes Lhe 'eyes' of one parLlcular characLer, seelng whaL
Lhey see - a hand held camera ls ofLen used for Lhls).






5

lnLroducLlon Lo LdlLlng

ueflnlLlon

A process of selecLlon and assemblage

!"# %&'( %')*+,&)- &% ./,+,)0

1. 1"2)0,)0 +"# -*#)# - Lo conclude acLlon ln
one scene and lnLroduce Lhe oLher

2. 34,--,&) - Lo omlL lrrelevanL scenes / lmages
LhaL do noL add Lo developmenL of
programme or narraLlve

3. 52(6,)0 +"# 7&,)+ &% 5,#8 - brlnglng LogeLher
shoLs Laken from dlfferenL polnLs wlLhln Lhe
same scene/locaLlon

4. 9',:/,)0 2) ,420# &( ,/#2 - assembllng a
number of shoLs can Lrlgger Lhe audlence lnLo
creaLlng menLal plcLures of Lhlngs Lhey don'L
see on screen e.g. symbollsm / suspense /use
of dlfferenL locaLlons (ouLslde one bulldlng,
lnslde ls sLudlo based.)


6

The Use of Sound in Television Drama

When analysing sound try to focus on the following areas:
General Analysis as well as Specific Analysis of sound features including:
Diegetic/Non-Diegetic/Asynchronous and Effects

*$+$,-. /+-.0&"& -1(2) )'$ !-0 &(2+# "& 2&$#

-3 4-,-..$. &(2+#

When we watch a programme, the sound that we hear usually compliments the
image that we see on the screen. For instance if we are looking at images of
children playing on a beach we expect to hear happy voices and light-hearted music.
A general comment on this will suffice.

b. Contrapunta| sound

Used to create a separation between the meanings of the visual and non-visual.
Sound, especially music, that contrasts or conflicts with the action taking place.

c. Sound bridges

Sound from one scene will often continue even though the visual image has moved
on to the next scene. This is known as a sound bridge and helps to create a smooth
transition from one scene to another. The sound is said to be enhancing the
continuity of the programme.

d. Sound Motifs

The choice of sounds and how they flow with the images on screen can serve to
build up a picture or motif around a certain character and their representation. Think
of a long shot of a business man walking to work coupled with comical music what
does this suggest? Sometimes this aspect is repeated though the programme to
build a suggestion or idea about a character.











7

Specific Analysis of sound features

1.Diegetic / Synchronised Sound (Live)

This is usually recorded at the same time as the pictures. Of central
importance is dialogue and speech. The audience also expects to hear any
sound created by visible action footsteps, the movement of props etc.
Silence can also be a powerful tool in creating suspense or indicating mood.
This is sound that carries specific narrative information e.g. a knock at the
door, also sound that gives a scene atmosphere e.g. general chatting in a bar.


Dialogue and Synchronous sound effects are examples of DIEGETIC sound:


1a.Dialogue
Speech or dialogue spoken by the most important characters in the scene.
Think about mode of address, language use, accent etc and how the dialogue
gives us an indication of character, motivation, relationships, behaviour etc.
Try to pick up on KEY dialogue from characters and represent these in an
essay within speech marks. Does the way a character speaks and how they
speak indicate issues of age/status/class etc.

1b Synchronous sound effects
Those sounds, which are synchronized or matched with what is
viewed. For example, if the text portrays a character playing the piano,
the sounds of the piano are projected. Synchronous sounds contribute
to the realism of Drama and also help to create a particular
atmosphere. For example, the click of a door being opened may
simply serve to convince the audience that the image portrayed is real,
and the audience will subconsciously note the expected sound.

c.Mode of Address
This refers to the way the text speaks to the audience. This is most often
done through the central characters. The audience quite often associate
themselves with the characters, so how they address the audience and other
characters is important. The mode of address can range from intimidating to
intimate. Does a character Directly Address the audience and what does
this say about their representation?

!""#$!%&'(& *+,%-%+'
Diegetic sound is often used to encourage the spectator to make sense of the
narrative in a particular way. Working to anchor meaning. i.e. how does this
sound position us as spectators and help us understand the Drama.


8




2.(Non-diegetic) / Non-synchronised Sound (Added)

Sound that doesnt come from the fictional world of the narrative. The clearest
example is that of a sound track. This is sound recorded elsewhere. This includes;

2a Voice over/Narration
This provides a commentary of events. To mediate the audience
interpretation of the visuals.

2b Music
This can indicates a different section within the programme, whether it be the
start or to provide closure. To signify mood / emotion. Comment on the type
of music orchestral/popular etc.
The score acts as a theme within the drama, it is a recognisable motif and
often draws from the theme music, it is written specifically for this drama.
Incidental / Background music can provide background to a scene, and
adds atmosphere to the action even to foreshadow a change in mood. It may
take the form of something as simple as a low, ominous tone suggesting an
impending (but not yet visible) startling event (dissonant sound), or, to
enhance the depiction of a story-advancing sequence (parallel sound).
It is used to add emotion and rhythm to a scene . Usually not meant to be
noticeable, it often provides a tone or an emotional attitude toward the story
and/or the characters depicted. Background music may aid viewer
understanding by linking scenes. For example, a particular musical
theme associated with an individual character or situation may be repeated at
various points in a drama in order to remind the audience of salient motifs or
ideas.

Musical Stings are short bursts of music. They were originally used in TV
and Radio when music stings were used to bump together different sections
and chapters of a show.
Ambient sound or ambient audio means the background sounds which are
present in a scene or location. Common ambient sounds include wind, water,
birds, crowds, office noises, traffic, etc. Ambient sound is very important in
video and film work. It performs a number of functions including providing
audio continuity between shots. Preventing an unnatural silence when no
other sound is present. Establishing or reinforcing the mood. This is also
referred to as a WILD TRACK.
.( #$!%&'(& *+,%-%+'
Non- Diegetic sound is also used to encourage the spectator to make sense
of the narrative in a particular way. Working to anchor meaning. i.e. how
does this sound position us as spectators and help us understand the Drama.

9


3.Asynchronous sound

Asynchronous sound effects are not matched with a visible source of the sound
on screen. Such sounds are included so as to provide an appropriate emotional
nuance, and they may also add to the realism of the text. For example, a director
might opt to include the background sound of an ambulance siren while the
foreground sound and image portrays an arguing couple. The asynchronous
ambulance siren underscores the conflict incurred in the argument; at the same time
the noise of the siren adds to the realism of the text by acknowledging the city
setting.


4. Effects to sound

If relevant, you must comment on sound level e.g. volume, as well as deliberate
effects e.g. echo/crescendo and what they suggest about representation. E.g.the
click of an opening door is amplified with an increase in volume, as part of a scene
of an ominous action such as a burglary, the sound mixer has called attention to the
click via a deliberate effect - this helps to engage the audience in a moment of
suspense.
e.g. Volume/Effects/Layering