We should think of shots as a way of answering a question; shots as words (what? where? why? how? when? who?)
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VLS/WS: Very long shot/Wide Shot - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a building, landscape or crowd of people will fill the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)This shot (as well as the CU) helps us to answer the when? question...time is apparently quite a difficult thing to capture on screen. It's important to show the passing of time and what this means for our beloved/hated characters.
(Image Sourced From: http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/1/13839/27_2007/license-1.preview.jpg)LS: Long Shot - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is small; a standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)
This helps to answer the where? question, mainly at the beginning of a scene; aka the establishing shot (pretty self-explanatory).
MLS: Medium Long Shot - A framing at a distance that makes an object about four or five feet high appear to fill most of the screen vertically. (Bordwell & Thompson)
MS: Mid Shot - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is of moderate size; a human figure seen from the waist up would fill most of the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)
This show helps to answer the what? question by showing your subject performing an action.
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MCU: Medium Close-Up - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is fairly large; a human figure seen from the chest up would fill most of the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)
A single MCU or a series of CU's can explain an event and answer the how? question.
MCU: Medium Close-Up - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is fairly large; a human figure seen from the chest up would fill most of the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)
A single MCU or a series of CU's can explain an event and answer the how? question.
(Image Sourced From: http://blog.nj.com/entertainment_impact_tv/2009/04/large_office-michael-scott-paper.jpg)CU: Close-Up - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large. ; most commonly a person's head seen from the neck up, or an object of a comparable size that fits most of the screen. (Bordwell & Thompson)
This shot helps us understand the question of who? by showing a character in detail. (Also see VLS/WS and MCU for more questions that the CU helps us to answer).
(Image Sourced From: http://i36.tinypic.com/33lktpg.jpg)[Example is the bottom-left quarter of the image]
BCU: Big Close-Up - a shot taken very close to the subject (closer than would be necessary for a close-up), revealing extreme detail. (H-Ref 1)
This shot can help us answer the question of why? because it helps to reveal more about a character and their actions. Josh explained that this question is usually directly tied to a character as opposed to an action.
As an aside, I would just like to say I am not overly fond of Twilight. However, this was the best example I could find of a BCU. I swallowed a rather large amount of pride in putting this picture up. This is totally irrelevant but I have to have my say!
(Image Sourced From: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_350/1231129082bb75Cg.jpg)ECU: Extreme Close-Up - A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large; most commonly, a small object or a part of the body. (Bordwell & Thompson)
Note about this image: I also struggled to find an example I liked of an ECU, but I thought this was appropriate as Jenna Fischer loves cats. (Jenna plays Pam on The Office). I'm not creepy, you guys! I found out because I read her blog. You can follow her blog on MySpace: Pam/Jenna.
So, this afternoon I am going to watch an episode of The Office and show how the shots used answer the questions: who? what? where? why? how? when? Stay Tuned!
REFERENCES:
Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2008) Film Art: An Introduction Ed. 8. New York: McGraw-Hill.
H-Ref 1: Film/Editing Terms
Accessed on the 18th August 2009.
All other info comes from the notes I took in Josh's Week 3 Lecture.
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