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The below three tables outline the standard framing for portrait & cinematic shots.
Portrait Orientation
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Head & Shoulders | Shows subject from shoulders up. |
| 1/4 | Shows subject from mid chest up. |
| 1/2 | Shows subject from belly button up. |
| 3/4 | Shows subject from mid thigh up. |
| Full Body | Shows subject from head to toe. |
Landscape Orientation
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Establishing Shot | Usually first shot of a scene used to establish location and environment, mood, and/or give the audience visual clues regarding time of day/year and the general situation. |
| Extreme Long Shot / Extreme Wide Shot | Shows a subject from a distance or the area in which the scene is taking place. Can be used for an Establishing Shot. |
| Wide Shot / Long Shot | Shows a subject within their surrounding environment. It tells the audience who is in the scene, where the scene is set, and when the scene takes place. Can be used for an Establishing Shot. |
| Full Shot | Shows subject head to toe roughly filling the frame. Tends to be more on action and movement vs character emotional state. |
| Medium Wide Shot / Medium Long Shot | Shows subject from the knees up. |
| Cowboy (American) Shot | Shows subject from the mid-thigh up. A variation of the Medium Wide Shot. |
| Medium Shot | Shows a subject from the waist up. |
| Medium Close Up Shot | Shows a subject from the chest or shoulders up. |
| Close Up | Fills the screen with part of the subject (e.g., person’s head or face). Emotions and reactions of character dominate the scene. |
| Choker | Shows a subject’s face from above the eyebrows to below the mouth. |
| Extreme Close Up | Shows a small area or detail of the subject (e.g., person’s eye(s) or mouth). Also known as an Italian Shot. |
Other Orientations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Eye Level | Shot taken with camera at human eye level resulting in neutral effect on the audience. |
| High Angle | Shot taken of subject from above eye level. Can make a subject seem vulnerable, weak, or frightened. |
| Low Angle | Shot taken of subject from below eye level. Can make a subject look powerful, heroic, or dangerous. |
| Dutch Angle/Tilt | Shot take of subject where shot is not level with horizon. Can make a subject seem disoriented or an uneasy psychological state. |
| Over-The-Shoulder | Subject is shot from behind the shoulder of another where subject is framed Medium to Close Up. The shoulder, neck, and/or back head of the subject facing away from the camera remains viewable. Useful for showing reactions during conversations. |
| Birds Eye View (Top Shot) | Shot taken from directly overhead and from a distance. Useful for showing direction, that the subject is moving, to highlight special relations, or reveal to the audience elements outside the boundaries of the character's awareness. Often taken from a crane, helicopter, or drone. |
| Point Of View (POV) | Shot intended to mimic what a particular character in a scene is seeing. Common examples are of a character waking up, driving into unconsciousness, or looking through scope or binoculars. |
Last updated 1-Nov-2023.
