Camera Shots

Follow Shot

The first shot I decided to try was a follow shot. With a follow shot, the camera continuously follows the subject as they walk or move. In this case, the subject is trying to call someone who isn't picking up. Upset over the lack of communication, I get up from my seat and walk to a different location in the setting. As I walk away from the house, the camera follows me all the way to where I stop on the road. This follow shot allows viewers to know that I changed locations by walking there, instead of just skipping straight to when I am already standing in the street. This shot was harder than the others to film because the the camera person had to keep the camera steady and make sure it wasn't shaky as they followed me. One has to keep the subject in the frame at all times, which can be hard if they are focusing on walking at the same time.

Long Shot

The second shot I wanted to experience was the long shot. When it comes to long shots, the camera must capture the entire subject, in relation to its area and surroundings. In my take, I am walking across the road while still trying to contact someone on the phone. The camera is located down the road, displaying the entire street and surrounding houses. The long shot allows audiences to better understand the setting and the subject's role in it. This shot was pretty easy to do as the camera just had to stay in one place. The only difficult thing to do was make sure the camera was in the correct area and angle to capture everything we wanted to capture and exclude everything we wanted to exclude.

High Angle Shot

The third shot I wanted to include in this assignment is the high angle shot. A high angle shot involves the camera looking down on a subject from a higher point. In this video, I can be seen walking across some grass, next to a tree, with the camera looking down at me from a higher point. This gives a third angle to me frantically looking around for someone and emphasizes how I have searched in many places for them. The video also includes me finally getting into contact with the person I am trying to find. This shot was a little difficult to capture since we needed a way to get to a higher point to be able to capture me from a higher angle. Luckily, we had a balcony we could film from, but other locations don't always have this. 

Two Shot

The fourth shot I thought would work with the storyline was a two shot. A two shot can be used when wanting to show a dialogue between two individuals or simply to capture two subjects in the same frame. In my case, I used a two shot to display a conversation between myself and the person I was trying to find, my sister. In the scene, I tell her that we won tickets to go to Spain. By having a two shot, audiences can see both our reaction and excitement for the news. The two shot was by far the easiest shot to take, since you simply have to position the angle to include both individuals in the frame. 

Over the Shoulder Shot

The fifth and final shot we took was the over the shoulder shot. This shot can be used for dialogue scenes in which the face of one of the individuals is shown while the shoulder or back of head of the other individual is shown. It can go back and forth between characters as who is talking changes or to capture reactions. In this case, the camera only captures my face as I excitedly announce when we are leaving for the trip, while my sister's shoulder is shown in one corner of the frame. This shot was also pretty easy to capture, but not as simple as the two shot. This is because one must be able to position the camera perfectly to show how much of each subject you want to capture.