Extreme wide shot
EWSextreme long shotXLS
The camera sits very far back; the landscape fills the frame and people are specks.
Vodafone
01
Shot size
How much of the world the frame holds — from a whole city to a single eye.
Wide shot
WSlong shotestablishing shot
The camera holds back to show the whole subject and the place around them.
Ladbrokes
Full shot
FSfull-body shothead-to-toe
The camera frames a person head to toe.
Apple
Medium shot
MSmid shotwaist shotcowboy shot
The camera frames a person from the waist up.
Cheetos | PepsiCo
Medium close-up
MCUchest shothead and shoulders
The camera frames head and shoulders, cutting at the chest.
Uber US
Close-up
CUtight shothead shot
The camera moves in until the face fills the frame.
Gatorade
Extreme close-up
ECUXCUdetail shot
The camera frames a single detail: an eye, lips, a fingertip.
The Face
Insert shot
insert shotcutawaydetail shot
The camera cuts in tight on an object or a hand the scene needs us to see.
Kenzo
02
Camera angle
Where the camera sits relative to the subject, and how that makes us feel about it.
Eye-level shot
eye-level angleneutral angle
The camera sits at the subject’s eye height, looking straight on.
Mastercard
Low-angle shot
low shothero shot
The camera sits below the subject and looks up.
Powerade
High-angle shot
high shotdown shot
The camera sits above the subject and looks down.
Nike
Overhead shot
top-downbird's-eyetop shot
The camera points straight down from directly above.
FREITAG lab.
Aerial shot
drone shothelicopter shot
The camera flies high above on a drone or helicopter.
Porsche
Worm's-eye view
worm's-eyeground shotfrog's-eye
The camera lies on the ground and looks almost straight up.
Kathmandu
Dutch angle
canted angledutch tiltoblique angle
The camera rolls sideways so the horizon tilts.
Toro
Point-of-view shot
POVfirst-personsubjective shot
The camera becomes the character’s eyes.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club
Over-the-shoulder
OTSdirty single
The camera looks past one person’s shoulder at another.
Barnardo's
03
Camera movement
How the camera travels through the scene — and what the move tells the audience.
Locked-off shot
static shottripod shotlocked shot
The camera stays locked off; only the scene moves.
Aldi
Pan
panning shotpan leftpan right
The camera turns left or right from a fixed spot.
Stonewall
Tilt
tilt uptilt down
The camera tips up or down from a fixed spot.
Boots
Push in
dolly intrack inpush
The camera travels forward, toward the subject.
Darn Tough Vermont
Pull out
dolly outpull backreveal
The camera travels backward, away from the subject.
Nike
Tracking shot
follow shottrucking shotdolly shot
The camera travels with a moving subject, beside or behind them.
Volkswagen
Handheld
shaky camhand-held
The camera is held by hand, so it breathes and shakes.
Fair Welcome
Crane shot
jib shotboom shotcrane up / down
The camera rises or drops through the air on an arm.
Google
Orbit shot
arc shot360 shotcircling shot
The camera circles around the subject.
Lenovo Legion
Whip pan
swish panflash pan
The camera spins so fast the picture smears into blur.
Budweiser
Crash zoom
snap zoomsmash zoom
The lens zooms in fast and suddenly on the subject.
McDonald's
Dolly zoom
vertigo effectzollycontra-zoom
The camera moves one way while the lens zooms the other; the subject holds size and the background warps.
The Whitbread Beer Company
FPV drone
FPVfirst-person drone
A small racing drone flies the camera, diving and weaving through spaces.
Lenovo Legion
Snorricam
body mountbody rigchest rig
The camera is strapped to the actor facing them; they stay still, the world lurches.
Columbia Sportswear
04
Lens & focus
What the glass does to space, depth and attention.
Shallow depth of field
bokehshallow depth of field
The lens keeps a thin slice sharp and melts the rest into blur.
Nike
Deep focus
deep depth of field
The lens keeps near and far both sharp.
Real Canadian Super Store
Rack focus
focus pullpull focus
The lens shifts focus from one thing to another mid-shot.
Google
Macro shot
macro shotextreme macro
The lens magnifies something tiny until it fills the frame.
Coca-Cola
Fisheye lens
fisheye lensultra-wide
An ultra-wide lens bends straight lines into curves.
Blueforge Alliance
Telephoto compression
long lenscompression
A long lens from far away squashes distance, so the background looms.
Intimate Hair Removal Kit
Tilt-shift miniature
miniature effectfake miniature
A tilted lens blurs top and bottom, so real places look like toy models.
Telekom
Lens flare
The camera faces a light so it streaks and glows across the lens.
Weetbix
05
Framing & composition
Where things sit inside the rectangle, and why it matters.
Symmetrical framing
central framingsymmetrical framing
The camera centres the frame so both halves mirror each other.
Adidas
Frame within a frame
frame within a frameframing device
The camera shoots through a door, window or mirror that frames the subject.
Bell Canada
Negative space
The camera leaves the subject small in a large empty frame.
Three Mobile
Silhouette
The camera exposes for a bright background, turning the subject into a dark shape.
Genesis/Hyundai
Reflection shot
The camera shows the subject in a mirror, glass or water.
Snickers
Two shot
The camera holds two people in one frame.
Ancestry®
Tableau
group shottableau vivant
The camera holds still on a crowd staged like a painting.
Amazon
06
Light & colour
The lighting set-ups that define a mood before anyone speaks.
Low-key lighting
low-key lighting
The camera sees mostly shadow, with a few hard pools of light.
Christie's
High-key lighting
high-key lighting
The camera sees a bright, even, almost shadowless image.
Ikea
Chiaroscuro
The camera catches hard light carving bright and dark across the subject.
New York City Ballet
Golden hour
magic hour
The camera shoots in the low, warm sun after sunrise or before sunset.
Greenpeace
Neon & practicals
The camera is lit only by signs, screens and lamps in the scene.
Bauhaus
Black & white
The camera records no colour, only light and shade.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Backlight & rim light
rim lightback lighting
The camera faces a light behind the subject, rimming them in glow.
MYOB
07
Time & speed
Bending time on camera: slower, faster, frozen, reversed.
Slow motion
slo-moovercrankinghigh frame rate
The camera shoots at a high frame rate, played back slower.
Z by HP
Time-lapse
The camera takes a frame every few seconds, so hours pass in seconds.
Heineken
Fast motion
undercrankingsped-up
The camera undercranks, so action plays faster than life.
Tango
Reverse motion
reverse motionrewind
The footage plays backwards.
Budget Direct
08
Editing & transitions
How one shot hands over to the next.
Split screen
The frame splits to show two or more shots at once.
AT&T
Dissolve
cross-fadelap dissolve
One shot fades through into the next.
Sky
Double exposure
superimposition
Two images are layered on top of each other.
The National Museum of Qatar
09
Style & process
Whole looks and production methods, from stop motion to screen life.
Stop motion
claymationobject animation
The camera shoots single frames while objects move a little between each.
Coca-Cola
2D animation
Drawn or flat digital images replace the camera.
Google
Photoreal CG
CGIVFX
A virtual camera films computer-made images that look real.
Lufthansa
Motion graphics
Animated type, shapes and design fill the frame.
Tate
Mixed media
Live-action footage is combined with drawings, collage or graphics.
Adobe Photoshop
Archival footage
Old film or broadcast footage is reused.
Tommy's
Screen life
screen UIdesktop film
The camera is the phone or computer screen itself.
Samsung Galaxy A
Phone UGC look
selfieuser-generated
A phone camera, held at arm’s length, faces the person talking.
HTC
Underwater
The camera goes below the surface.
RNLI
10
VFX techniques
Effects built in post — impossible moments that look like they were caught on camera.
Bullet time
frozen momenttime slice
The action freezes in mid-air while the camera keeps moving around it.
The Glenlivet
Morph
transformationmorphing
One face, person or object smoothly transforms into another.
Pepsi
Seamless transition
invisible cuthidden cut
Two shots are stitched so cleanly they look like one continuous take.
Glenlivet
Set extension
digital matte paintingenvironment extension
A real set is extended digitally into a much bigger world.
Aldi
CG character in live action
digital creatureCG creature
A computer-made creature or character shares the frame with real people.
Shreddies
Liquid splash
fluid simulationCG splash
Liquid swirls and splashes around a product in impossible, perfect shapes.
Absolut
Exploded view
product breakdowndeconstruction
A product flies apart into its parts in mid-air, then snaps back together.
Lowe's
Particle disintegration
dissolve to dustparticle effect
A person or object breaks apart into dust or particles that drift away.
Victoria
Clone shot
twinningsplit-screen clone
The same actor appears more than once in the same shot.
Jimdo