In ‘Film Language’ your most important tool (or your biggest trick) is to use the a BCU (Big Close-Up) and/or ECU (Extreme Close-Up) and the Insert Shot. In the lesson we will look at these and then use the manual settings on the camera to practice them.

First of all, let’s identify these shots.

Insert Shots are used to provide detail, they can be of a person, an object, a place, but they are always ABOUT DETAIL. It is one of the key features of cinema that it is able to transform our expectations and understanding around TIME AND SPACE that we are able to bring an audience so closely to such details. This can create DRAMATIC IRONY (the audience is given information that our characters are not aware of) or EMPATHY we connect with our characters, or SYMPATHY (we feel sorry for our characters) or . . .

In terms of people we can use an BCU or ECU to bring the audience into contact with a character is feeling at a particular moment in the film. We will look at how to build character sequences (often used during dialogue) next week. But for now it would be good to practice some shots using our cameras.

TASK: Take 10-12 single shots that are ECU’s/BCU’s of your character, including some shots of a key object (ie your INSERT SHOT). Upload onto your blog with some explanation and description of what you are doing

How to use your camera to get a really good BCU/ECU, INSERT shot. The best way to get a really good close up is to get really, really, really close! Think about:

• framing
• shot size
• shot angle
• colour
• texture
• focus
• depth of field (we will look at this in more detail in another lesson)

Low Angle : The Matrix – They use the effects of a low angle to show the power of the agents over the protagonists and characters by making the audience feel less dominant.

Canted Angle : The Dark Knight – This is used to show the chaos in the room between the Joker and Batman.

Bird’s Eye Angle : The Shining – Wendy and Danny are shown as vulnerable and insignificant as shown from Jacks perspective, this is key in Jack going mad and trying to kill his family.

Extreme Long Short (XLS) – Dark – Creates a sense of loneliness after the Apocalypse

Medium Close Up (MCU) – Shows the characters reaction while showing setting behind him to explain his reactions.

Extreme Close Ups (XCU) – Shows the mythical beings in Avatar.

Extreme Long Shot: This is an example from The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. It shows the viewer the vastness of the journey the central characters need to travel.  

Medium Shot: This is an example from Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It is used to create comedy as the viewer can see the contrasting reactions of both characters at the same time. It also allows the viewer to see the background setting so they can understand more about the characters from where they live. 

Close Up: This is an example from Eighth Grade It is used to highlight how nervous and embarrassed the character is feeling as it is only showing the actor’s face and emotions.

Depth Of Field – he distance between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused image.

Shallow Focus – One plane of the image is in focus while the rest is out of focus. Shallow focus is typically used to emphasize one part of the image over another.

Deep Focus – Deep focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique using a large depth of field. Depth of field is the front-to-back range of focus in an image; that is, how much of it appears sharp and clear. In deep focus, the foreground, middle-ground, and background are all in focus.

This shot from the film ‘Ex Machina’ is a shallow focus shot. The focus of the camera is the head and whatever is happening in the foreground, the background of the shot is blurred.

In this scene from the film ‘Unbroken’ the shot is a deep focus as all of the surrounding area is in view and clear, giving it depth. This also creates more story and detail in the scene.

1. Panning Movement – A panning movement is used for example to move from one side of a person to another in one smooth movement.
2. Crab Movement – The crab movement is when the subject is on the far left of the camera sight and stays still while the camera moves to the left so that the subject is now on the right.
3. Tracking Movement – A tracking movement starts away from the subject to then move forward where the subject is directly in the shot.
4. Zooming Movement – This is when the camera stays still as well as the subject and the camera then zooms into the subject for a more detailed shot.
5. Ped Movement – This starts at the top of a subject and pans directly down the subject finishing usually at the floor directly facing the subject, giving a wider understand of whats on the screen.
6. Tilt Movement – The tilt movement is having the camera pointing at the top of a subject and panning down at an angle to reach the lower parts.

Panoramic Movement:

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Shot from one of the Spider-Man films | This is a pan right to left movement which makes the viewer feel as if they are actually in the film and having to focus on the one point.

This is useful in films because it allows the reader to follow the subject but the camera does this in one smooth movement.

Zoom Out Movement:

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I am unsure of the film for these photos but this movement is a zoom out movement. In this scene the camera moves away from the subject possibly showing the surrounding area and emphasising the fact that the subject is by himself.

This is used in films to create the affect that the scene could be changing or something new is about to happen.

Tracking Movement:

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Again I am unsure of the film and the shots are very hard to see but in this scene the camera is tracking backwards in a hospital with nurses and other hospital workers moving between the rooms in front of the camera and an alarm going off throughout the scene, ultimately creating a very chaotic feeling.