Video Basics: How to set up a good shot (part 2)

By Paddy Winfield

Camera Angles: Where the camera is in relationship to the subject.

This relationship gives emotional information to the audience and guides their judgment about the character or object in frame. Camera angles will not make much sense until a person can understand how each angle affects the way the audience views the subject.

1. Low angle shot

The camera points upwards, usually making the subject or setting seem grand or threatening. Action movies will use low angles to show the hero or villain with a over-bearing sense of power.

The camera looks down, making the subject look vulnerable or insignificant. This angle gives the exact opposite feeling from a low angle. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant.

A very unnatural and strange angle that is shot from above looking down.  This angle puts the audience in a god-like position looking down at the action as if it were an ant pile. Hitchcock used this angle frequently.

The most common and neutral of angles. the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene.