Before the sticks go down: frame, shot size, aspect ratio and the camera move. Settle it on paper and you won’t be hunting for it on set.
Words you’ll hear at this stage. Explained once, then we just use them.
The frame decides what the audience sees and what it doesn’t. Shot size, aspect ratio, where the characters sit in the frame and depth of field together form a language the viewer reads without noticing.
ReadingArticles in preparation; the tables and terms are already in the department.
Camera movement changes what the audience sees and how it feels. What matters is whether the camera only rotates (pan, tilt) or physically travels — and in doing so changes perspective and parallax.
ReadingArticles in preparation; the tables and terms are already in the department.
The tools for this stage, right here. They run in your browser and send nothing.
From extreme close-up (ECU) to extreme wide shot (EWS) on a single figure, with the abbreviations used on shot lists. Tool page
The boundaries between shot sizes aren’t standardised — Slovak and Czech crews, for example, use their own terms with slightly different framings. What matters is agreement within the crew.
One scene in 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 1.85:1, 2:1 and 2.39:1 — and what happens on different screens. Tool page
Nine moves shown as a top or side diagram alongside the view the camera sees. Tool page