Cinematography

Cinematography

Camera Shots

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot) -The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

VWS (Very Wide Shot) - The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

WS (Wide Shot)- The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible.

MS (Mid Shot) - Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

CU (Close Up) - A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

ECU (Extreme Close Up)- The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail.

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot - Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Point-of-View Shot (POV)- Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

Camera Movements

Dolly - The camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks for a very smooth movement. Also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot.

Pan- Horizontal movement, left and right.

Tilt- Vertical movement of the camera angle, i.e. pointing the camera up and down (as opposed to moving the whole camera up and down)

Track- Roughly synonymous with the dolly shot, but often defined more specifically as movement which stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement.