Digital Media Define digital media Define Roles and Responsibilities 1. Camera operator 2. Director 3. Producer - planning role / vision Script Writing Abbreviations GS - Green Screen (chroma key) SFX - Sound Effects GFX - Graphics INT - Interior of place EXT - Exterior of place
Camera Movement Terms 1. Tilt Up/Down - Moving the cameras lens up or down while keeping its horizontal axis constant. Nod your head up and down - this is tilting. 2. Pan Left/Right - Moving the camera lens to one side or another while keeping its vertical axis constant. Look to your left, then look to your right - that's panning. 3. Dolly In/Out - Motion towards or motion from. The phrase dolly-in means step towards the subject with the camera, while dolly-out means to step backwards with the camera, keeping the zoom the same. 4. Truck Left/Right - Trucking is like dollying, but it involves motion left or right. Truck left means "move the camera physically to the left while maintaining its perpendicular relationship." 5. Arc Left/Right - Doing an arc shot requires camera movement that covers a semi-circle around the subject. 6. Pedestal Up/Down - Moving the camera up or down without changing its vertical or horizontal axis. A camera operator can do two types of pedestals: pedestal up means "move the camera up;" pedestal down means "move the camera down." You are not tilting the lens up, rather you are moving the entire camera up. Imagine your camera is on a tripod and you're raising or lowering the tripod head. 7. Zoom In/Out - Zooming is one camera move that most people are probably familiar with. It involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear closer or further away in the frame.
Basic Shots 1. Extreme Close Up (XCU or ECU) The ECU is a detail of a face. For example, one eye, an ear or the mouth. The detail fills most, if not all, of the entire frame. Sometimes the XCU is used with shots of inanimate objects. For example, the handle of a teacup or the toenail of the foot of an elephant. This shot is the least used shot in the range of basic shots. In script/log, the shot might be marked up as: or or XCU teacup handle XCU Dumbo's toenail XCU Bill's eyes 2. Big Close Up (BCU) The BCU is a full frame on the person's entire face. It is usually composed to show all the features, but doesn't include the chin line and the top of the head.
3. Close Up (CU) The CU is framed from the subject's shoulders to the top of the head, plus head-room. HEADROOM is the distance between the top of the hair and the upper frame edge. 4. Medium Close Up (MCU) MCU, direct to camera MCU, three-quarter profile The MCU is framed from the subject's bust line to the top of the head, plus headroom. The MCU usually takes one of two forms: either facing the camera, known as 'direct to camera', or 'three-quarter profile'. In editing for TV, the MCU and the medium shot (MS) are the most commonly used shots. The MCU's 'direct to camera' form, is composed with just enough headroom and
is framed from above the subject's elbow and below the armpit (bust line). In the MCU's 'three-quarter profile', the tip of the nose should be approximately on the vertical center line of the picture. This allows for perfect nose room (looking room). NOSE ROOM is the space between the edge of frame (left or right edge, depending on which way the subject is facing) to the subject's nose. 5. Medium Shot (MS) Medium shot (MS) MS, showing greater nose room Medium two shot (M2S) The MS is framed from the subject's waistline to the top of the head, plus head-room. The MS is sometimes known as the 'mid shot' or 'waist shot'. It is one of the most commonly used shots and is one of the most flexible in shooting. When the subject turns to a three-quarter profile, the same general guide applies as with the MCU. The exception to this is when the subject moves, or is looking at, pointing or gesturing to something. In this case, there will be more nose room. If the subject is to be joined by a second person, then space in the frame should be provided. This new shot is called a 'medium two shot' (M2S). 6. Medium Long Shot (MLS) Medium long shot (MLS), walking MLS, static subject
The MLS is framed from the subject's knee/thigh area to the top of the head, plus head-room. The MLS is sometimes known as the 'American (knee) shot' or 'Cowboy shot'. the MLS is generally a movement shot. If the subject is to move, then enough nose room must be provided on the side of the frame towards which the subject will walk. If the subject is static, then this doesn't generally apply. The framing of a MLS is slightly above or slightly below the knee, but never on the knee. 7. Long Shot (LS) The LS frames the entire body into the shot. The LS is still close enough to recognize the subject, yet far enough away to give some geography to the scene. So, it is often used as an introductory shot. 8. Cover Shot/ Establishing Shot/ Extreme Long Shot (XLS or ELS) Extremely long shot (XLS) XLS, man in street XLS, man on horse
The XLS frames the subject or scene with the widest lens angle. This shot is also called 'the wide angle', 'the wide shot'; even the phrase 'the geography shot' is used. The subject is so small in the frame that it is totally unrecognizable. This shot is often used in opening sequences such as background for titles. 9. Two Shot (2S) Medium two shot (M2S) 2S, favoring the woman Three shot, (3S) The 2S frames two subjects together into as tight a shot as is comfortable without cropping or squeezing the sides of the subjects. When framing more than two people, the shot is known by the number of subjects. For example, a three shot would be a MLS or LS with three people. With more than four people is either as a 'group shot', or with even more people as the 'crowd shot'. 10. Over Shoulder Shot (OSS)
Over shoulder shot (OSS) The OSS frames two subjects on the screen, with one subject's back toward you, then frames the facing subject so that the camera sees them "over the shoulder" of the foreground subject.