Types of Shots in Film

Medium shot. In film, a medium shot, mid shot (MS), or waist shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance.

In film or video, an over the shoulder shot (also over shoulder, ab tu, OTS, or third-person shot) is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.

Shallow focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique incorporating a small depth of field. In 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.

One of the first things students are taught in film school is the nomenclature of the basic types of camera shots. This common language is essential for writers, directors, camera operators, and cinematographers to effectively communicate visual elements of a shot, particularly the size of a subject—often a person—within the frame.

Film shots are an essential aspect of a movie where angles, transitions and cuts are used to further express emotion, ideas and movement. The term "shot" can refer to two different parts of the filmmaking process: In production, a shot is the moment that the camera starts rolling until the moment it stops.

A two shot is a type of shot in which the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects). The subjects do not have to be next to each other, and there are many common two-shots which have one subject in the foreground and the other subject in the background. It is very useful if the film is about two people.