Today we took the next step with learning about cameras.

Videos can create movement through editing or physically moving the camera. Here are three examples from my portfolio:

There are several common shot sizes:
1. Establishing shot or Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)
2. Long Shot or Wide Shot (LS, WS)
3. Medium Long Shot (MLS)
4. Medium Shot (MS)
5. Medium Close-up (MCU)
6. Close-up (CU)
7. Extreme close-up or Insert shot (ECU)

The shot size acronyms can be used during script writing to help describe a shot. Here is a diagram that roughly shows the common shots:

Here are some common camera moves (click to enlarge):
Pan (move camera rotationally left and right) like on a tripod
Tilt (move camera rotationally up and down) like on a tripod
Truck (physically move the camera left and right) like with a track system
Dolly (physically move the camera in and out) like with a track system
Zoom (change lens focal length)
Pedestal or boom (physically move the camera up and down) with a crane or jib

At the end of the morning, Owen’s group got some shots in the snow…one thing they tried was slow motion. To accomplish this, one must shoot at a higher frame rate and then play it back at a normal speed. In this case, we “over-cranked” the frame rate to 60 frames per second and played them back at 12 and 24 frames per second.