Module 4 · Lesson 1 of 5
Name every shot: wide, medium or close.
A shot is one camera view. Learn the three kinds of shot every film is built from, then spot them in a real film.
Watch
Deon The Ghost: The Weekend Special (1:21)
The steps
A shot is one camera view, from one cut to the next. Most shots last 2 to 8 seconds.
A one-minute film often has 10 to 20 shots.
The three kinds of shot
A wide shot has the camera far back. It shows where we are: the whole kitchen, the street, the car.
A medium shot shows a person from the waist up. It shows who is talking.
A close shot has the camera close to a face. It shows how they feel.
A simple order works for most scenes: wide to show the place, medium while they talk, close for the moment that hurts.
Practice on a real film
Tap the play button on the film in this lesson.
Each time the picture changes, tap the film to pause it. Say out loud: wide, medium or close.
Not sure? Ask yourself: can I see the whole room (wide), the waist up (medium), or just a face (close)?
Count how many of each kind you saw. Write the three numbers down.
Do this now
Watch the film in this lesson and name each shot wide, medium or close.
Check yourself
- Can you say what a wide shot shows?
- Did you name every shot in the film?
- Do you know which kind of shot shows feeling?
If any answer is no, go back over the steps, or look below.
Stuck?
- The film won’t play.
- Connect to Wi-Fi, then reload the page. Pull the page down from the top, or tap the round arrow next to the address.
- The shots change too fast to name.
- Watch it once all the way through. Then watch again and pause on every change. Drag the dot on the bar under the film back to see a shot again.
- I can’t tell medium from close.
- Look for the chest or waist. If you can see it, it’s medium. If a face fills most of the screen, it’s close.
Still stuck? Email info@bookwriter.vip and say which lesson you’re on. A person reads every message and writes back.