Cinematography I - Shot Distances

You must learn these terms and use them at all times throughout your essay when discussing key sequences of the films you are analysing. Remember, EVERY shot is a shot distance (this is particularly noticeable when there is a character in the frame) and it is vital that the terms become an integral part of your description and analysis of scenes. The shot below, for example, is a medium close up of an important character from Pulp Fiction and you would be expected to discuss the ways it draws attention to the character's emotion, creating expectations about the character's state of mind and indicating to the audience what the character may do next. The distance of shot also potentially positions the audience with that character because of the connection made as a result of the way these types of closer shots emphasise that character's emotion.

Sometimes the questions in the exam will focus broadly on film form, whilst at other times the questions may direct you more specifically to discuss cinematography, encouraging you to consider the ways it is used to create meaning for the audience. Questions on film form are applicable to ALL of the films studied on the course and a thorough appreciation of camerawork and the effects of choosing particular shot distances will also be crucial in your practical coursework (particularly in the accompanying storyboard of digital images but also in the way you construct your action lines in the script).

In the exams, questions might focus on other Core Areas of Study (such as aesthetics, representation and context) or Specialist Areas of Study (including spectatorship, narrative, ideology, auteur, critical debates and filmmakers' theories). Even though these questions do not specifically ask you to discuss film form, you will be expected to discuss film language (including shot distances) in your essays.

REMEMBER, shot distances enable the spectator to focus on particular aspects of mise-en-scene in the shot (for example a close up might encourage the audience to focus on facial expressions, whilst an extreme long shot will emphasise setting). Arguably, it is the mise-en-scene that will shape audience expectation and create meaning for the spectator BUT you still need, at the very least, to be able to label the shot.

Get into the habit of constantly using the terminology for shot distances, even when you are describing what is happening. Every shot will be one distance or another - so, use the term! I never want to read "...the shot..." - instead, I expect you to use the correct terminology, such as "...long shot..." or "...medium close up..."

ESTABLISHING SHOT

Establishing shots are usually found at the beginning of scenes (often indicating a change in location) and they help establish for the audience where the subsequent action takes place. Establishing shots are very common in all films (particularly mainstream Hollywood movies) and it is likely that there will be one at the beginning of each film you watch, as well as subsequent establishing shots for each new scene in that film. It is very likely that the beginning of many of the scenes that you prepare as examples for each film in your written exam will contain establishing shots; it is equally important to try to explain the reasons for the lack of establishing shots in a scene, if this is the case, as it is likely that the director will have made a conscious decision to leave them out to create a particular effect for the audience. It is also likely that you will use establishing shots in your own production coursework.

Usually establishing shots will be extreme long shots and will focus on the location/setting. The establishing shot above is taken from the beginning of Matt Ross' Captain Fantastic and indicates not only where a large portion of the film's action takes place but also establishes that the Cash family are isolated from mainstream, contemporary society as a result of the father's decision to raise his family in the American wilderness. The establishing shot below, taken from Christopher Nolan's Inception, reinforces the fragile nature of the dream layers that the characters work within in the film's narrative but also reflects the central character's crumbling grip on reality.

Establishing shots are used to orientate the audience BUT may also create expectations for the audience about themes or the action that will follow. Often establishing shots are followed by a series of shots that gradually get closer to where the action is taking place.

Many filmmakers choose not to use conventional establishing shots to begin a scene (in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, for example, which you can see above), preferring to thrust their audience immediately into the action. If this happens in a scene you are viewing, you should think about why the director may have chosen to do this.

EXTREME LONG SHOT

In extreme long shots the setting will dominate and characters will often be relatively small in comparison, dwarfed by their surroundings - as in the shot above taken from Trainspotting. With extreme long shots it is likely that the director will be asking the audience to focus their attention on the setting. Here, you should discuss what expectations the setting creates (in terms of the narrative and, possibly, the characters). Crucially, you must not forget to briefly describe the setting. 

Extreme long shots are often used to make a character appear vulnerable or isolated (as in the shot above of the young protagonist Shaun from Shane Meadows' This is England) and to make the setting appear threatening. If you are going to say something about the expectations created for the audience about character, you may find it useful to link it to representation (shot distances, along with the elements of mise-en-scene that they draw attention to, will be crucial in any discussion about the representation of age, gender or ethnicity).

In the shot above you would want to mention the barren, bleak setting, commenting on both the beauty and hostility of the landscape - you may link it to Shaun's desire at this point in the film (towards the end of the narrative) to escape from the new life that he has found as a young skinhead. The character appears small in comparison to the setting because of the shot distance and seems isolated and potentially vulnerable (this is compounded by the use of loose framing). Here, the extreme long shot draws our attention to the setting and the way that it seems to envelope and dominate the character, indicating how lonely and marginalised he is.

LONG SHOT

If a long shot features a character, the character's head will be near the top of the frame whilst his/her feet will be towards the bottom of the frame, as with the shot above of the character Sugar Cane (played by Marilyn Monroe) taken from Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot. Long shots are not ideal shot choices for emphasising facial expressions BUT they are useful for encouraging audiences to notice element of mise-en-scene, such as costume and characters' figure behaviour. Whilst characters are certainly more prominent in long shots than they are in extreme long shots, setting will still be reasonably important. In the shot above, discussion would focus around Sugar's figure behaviour or body language, alongside her costume. You should also consider the proxemics when discussing long shots - thinking about a character's position in relation to both the other characters in the shot and the setting. In the shot above, Sugar's position within the frame foregrounds her centrality to the film's narrative and reinforces Monroe's star status in the movie.

If you are analysing the meaning created by a long shot, just remember that you may want to comment on both setting and character. In the shot above, featuring Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, the audience's attention is drawn to the characters' positions in relation to each other, their costumes and their respective figure behaviour or body language. Here, you should think about the way that the long shot allows you to see aspects of mise-en-scene, before trying to link mise-en-scene to ideas regarding representation. We can see by both Kilgore's body language (his casual stance with his hands on his hips) and his costume (his hat which resembles a cowboy's stetson and the fact that he is bar-chested in the middle of combat) that he is a fearless leader, unafraid or unaffected by the violent mayhem around him (emphasised by the plumes of smoke that we can see in the background of the long shot).

MEDIUM LONG SHOT

In a medium long shot characters are shot from the knees upwards, as in the shot above of the main protagonist Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) taken from Christopher Nolan's Inception. This distance of shot is sometimes referred to as an American shot or a ¾ shot. In a medium long shot the setting is still visible, but the focus is beginning to shift more towards the character and away from the setting. Again our attention is drawn to aspects of mise-en-scene, such as figure behaviour and costume rather than focusing on a character's facial expression (though this is just beginning to become more important). Both Cobb's figure behaviour (cautious and closed as he is trying not to upset the fragile dream layer that he is in) and his costume (a tailored suit, indicating his power and status) tell the audience much about the character.

In the shot above, of the Cash family in Captain Fantastic, shallow focus has been used to place even greater emphasis on the characters (and less emphasis on the setting). The choice of a medium long shot draws the audience's attention to the costumes that they are wearing (particularly non-conformist when you consider that they are attending a funeral) and their defiant body language (they have been forbidden to attend even though it is the funeral of their mother). Their costumes and figure behaviour reinforce the fact that the family are outsiders, unaware of (or blatantly rejecting) the norms of conventional, mainstream capitalist society (the tight framing reinforcing both their togetherness as a family unit, however unconventional the rest of society perceives them, and a sense of their claustrophobia when they find themselves outside of the wilderness they have become accustomed to and when they feel constrained by the rules and customs of mainstream society).

MEDIUM SHOT

In a medium shot characters are shot from the waist up, as in the shot above of the character Bodevan 'Bo' Cash from Captain Fantastic. In a medium shot, the emphasis continues to move away from the setting and towards the character, highlighting aspects of mise-en-scene such as costume, figure behaviour and, increasingly, facial expressions. Whilst the setting is clearly still important in the shot above, the director (Matt Ross) has already established the wild and remote nature of the environment in previous long shots and extreme long shots; here, the emphasis has begun to shift towards the character and the ways in which he is at one with the habitat. It is also the opening scene of the film and as we will see in our discussion of narrative conventions later on in the course, filmmakers often introduce important characters to the audience in opening scenes, attempting to position the audience with them and revealing character traits that may be important in the rest of the film; closer shots, such as medium shots help ensure that this connection between the audience and characters is achieved. In the shot above we can clearly see Bo's figure behaviour (calm and confident, indicating that he is comfortable in the wilderness), his costume (or lack of it) showing his bare torso plastered in mud to act as camouflage whilst he hunts a deer and his similarly camouflaged khaki trousers. We are also able to see the prop of the hunting knife, sheathed at his side. All of the above instantly indicates to the viewer that Bo is well prepared and is at ease in a natural environment that would undoubtedly appear very hostile to people living in more civilised locations, such as the city that the family visit later in the narrative (a place where they struggle to fit in).

Shots from medium shot onwards (such as other 'closer' shots including medium close up, close up and big close up) are used repeatedly in movies to emphasise characters' emotions and to therefore act as a tool to bring the audience closer (emotionally) to the character, positioning the spectator with them. Ofelia, the main protagonist from Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth pictured above, is frequently shot from closer distances (medium shot to big close up) as it is important for the audience to be positioned with her and to experience not only her emotion, but also to experience events from her perspective. The medium shot above enables the audience to see her costume (the dress is, in part, green - a colour that Ofelia frequently wears, tying her to nature and the world of fantasy); a dress which later in the scene she ruins (a defiant act, even though it is partly accidental that emphasises her loathing of her stepfather and her non-conformist attitude even in the face of great danger). The distance of shot also draws attention to Ofelia's body language and facial expression (she looks with childlike wonder into the distance) and the narratively significant prop of the book she has been given by the mysterious Faun.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP

In a medium close up, characters are shot from roughly the chest up. The setting will be largely irrelevant (or, certainly much less important than in previous shot distances) and the focus of the audience's attention will be on the character's figure behaviour and, in particular, his/her facial expressions. Here, you should first identify the shot and then discuss the way that the character's facial expression emphasises particular emotions. Captain Willard in the shot above, taken from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is focused, a man of concentration unruffled by the events of the war which rages around him (a trait that he maintains throughout the course of the film). The distance of shot draws attention to his relaxed posture (and the prop of the letter) but emphasises most significantly the protagonist's facial expressions; it is from these facial expressions that audiences most frequently make assessments about the characters in films. 

The two shot above, of Jules and Vincent from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, is shot in medium close up and forces the audience to compare the respective characters' facial expressions and emotions, again reinforcing traits about the characters which are maintained throughout the film. We can also clearly see the costumes that they are wearing (dark suits and ties, alluding to crime and the gangster genre), whilst the setting is largely unimportant.

CLOSE UPS & BIG CLOSE UPS

Close ups show characters from roughly the neck up/tops of the shoulders up, with the top of the character's head at the top of the frame (as in the shot above of Colonel Kurtz from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now), whilst big close ups are slightly closer (still focusing on a character's face) often cropping the top and/or bottom of the head (as in the shot of Amy Winehouse above, from Asif Kapadia's documentary Amy).

With a close up or big close up, the audience's attention is almost exclusively focused on a character's facial expressions and, therefore, the character's emotions. This has the effect of not only bringing us closer to the character and positioning us with them, but also drawing attention to the character's emotional state. This, in turn, prompts expectations about what may happen to them in the narrative. The close up of Kurtz above, highlights his unhinged emotional state, his camouflage indicating that he is at one with the jungle and has become removed from civilised society. The big close up above shows Amy Winehouse's gaunt facial expression (emphasised by the harrowing lighting), reinforcing her descent into drug addiction and hinting at her death which inevitably follows. The closeness of this shot, and many of the shots in the film, is designed to provoke an unsettling emotional response from the viewer in the final scenes of the documentary.

Close ups and big close ups are also frequently used by directors to draw attention to the importance of particular props and to hint to the audience that they will have some significance later in the narrative. The close up above, of Rocket in Fernando Meirelles' City of God, draws attention to the camera which is arguably the most significant prop in the whole of the narrative (featuring as one of the first and last props that we witness in the film). The camera differentiates Rocket, the film's narrator and main protagonist, from the other characters in the film (their props are invariably guns) and signifies to the audience that the narrative may hold a different outcome for Rocket. The film is grounded in reality (despite many stylistic directorial flourishes) and the prop of the camera helps to reinforce the 'documentary' nature of the film and the fact that the director is trying to 'capture' the true nature of life in the favelas.

EXTREME CLOSE UP

In an extreme close up, only a portion of the face (nose, lips, eye) or the body (thumb, toe, belly button) is shown. These types of shots do not conform to reality and are therefore very stylistic and unusual, often shocking the audience. They may be used, as in the shot of the dying deer above taken from the beginning of Captain Fantastic, to provoke an emotional response or to draw attention to the narrative significance of a moment (in this case, the killing of the deer signifies Bo's move to adulthood). Or, as in the shot of the gold watch from Pulp Fiction below, extreme close ups may add extra significance to the role of a prop (in this case, the watch alters the course of the narrative for multiple characters in the film).