Today we'll be looking at shot angles. The different angles from which you take a picture, or film a video can give an audience various meaning and interpretation of a scene. So for all our young photographers and film makers out there, be sure to choose your camera angles well before producing, it could make the world of difference.
There are several types of angles one can use to take a picture or film a video, so sit tight as we go through each one.
Birds Eye View
This is taken from directly overhead. Images taken from this angle can look very unnatural at first such as houses that look like match box or umbrellas that look like dots. This is the angle we would normally see the earth from in an airplane. This shot helps to put the audience in a god-like position, looking down at the action. Objects and people can be made to look insignificant or simply apart of the wider scheme of things.
High Angle
This shot angle although taken from an elevated angle, is not as extreme as the bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action giving a general view of what is going on. High angle shots such as the one shown can help the audience feel apart of the action. At times, however, it simply makes objects seem smaller, such as the cheerleaders on the ground, and thus they become less significant. When using high angle shots, the characters tend to get swallowed up by their settings as they become apart of the wider picture.
Eye Level
As the name suggests, the audience gets to view the action on a face to face level. This shot can be used especially with conversations among characters or simply to get a personal view of a scene. The camera is usually placed five to six feet from the ground. (Yes this picture is one of me and some friends).
Low Angle
Low angle shots are used to increase the height of characters or objects. This is used especially in cinema to at height to short actors. This type of angle helps to create a sense of confusion within a scene, and audiences feel a sense of powerlessness and confusion as the action speeds along. The added height of the subject assists in inspiring awe, respect and sometimes fear in audiences.
Canted/Oblique Shot
The camera is sometimes tilted to get what is called a canted shot angle. This can create a sense of imbalance, transition or instability. This is mainly found in horror movies (but I did not want to scare any of you bloggers with one of those pictures). The technique is used to suggest point of view i.e. when the camera becomes the 'eye' of a character by seeing what they see. A hand held camera is usually used.
These are the basic camera/shot angles. I also added a video from YouTube demonstrating the basic shot angles. Please check it out.
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