Explore five camera types of shots every filmmaker should know for powerful, engaging stories for their projects. We also covered the best lens to capture professional shots on a budget this year.
Introduction:
For every filmmaking project, telling a story is the primary goal, and executing it can make or break its success. This storytelling is, in fact, the narrative of a scene that attempts to convey the message, emotion related to it, or sequence of events you want the audience to expect after it. For example, a POV shot aims to make the audience feel what the person in the frame is experiencing in real time, without any scripting.
Similarly, a wide shot aims to let the audience know what’s going on in the environment and where the scene is taking place. All this is narrative building, which creates a flow and meaning for your video. The stronger it is, the better the audience is pulled in. If you want to elevate your narrative building in your video work, you absolutely must focus on these basic camera shots, which are often overlooked by indie filmmakers.
Core Camera Types of Shots
1. Over-the-Shoulder Shot
An OTS shot is one of the most important shooting techniques, and you will need to spend a considerable amount of time practicing it to build a stronger narrative. To set it up, a subject is shot from behind the shoulder (viewable) of another, which can be a medium to close-up shot. Such a shot makes the shot useful for showing reactions during conversations.
2. Closeup Shot
Imagine you are just interested in the face of the subject as an audience, and this is what a close-up shot would do for you. It zooms in and wraps the subject tightly by capturing just the head and shoulders or even the entire face. These shots are commonly used to build suspense or horror scenes and their following narrative. Extreme close-up shots are also used to focus on a single feature of a face or an object, such as a key opening a door or a weapon being fired.
3. The Cutaway Shot
Another very common shot in films that you need to master. It is done to give context, build tension, or show undisclosed details that the audience needs to understand the entire scene. Such shots give a perspective without breaking the flow of the scene and are one of the most important camera types of shots in building narrative and smoothing out the story.
4. Medium Shots
It is one of the most common shots used in filmmaking, as it focuses on a single or multiple subjects in a scene while still showing some of the environment. The subject is shown in detail, but not all of it; it is usually a waist-up shot in movies, and lets the audience clearly see body language and facial expressions
5. Establishing Shot
It is usually a wide shot, or a “long shot,” and is selected to establish spatial context for the audience. These scenes are at the start and allow the audience to know where the subject is and what’s happening in his nearby surroundings.
Camera Lens for Narrative Building:
Techniques alone are insufficient, as you require a capable camera with a cinematic lens to create these shots that feel immersive and professional-looking. The SIRUI AURORA Series 35mm F1.4 Full-frame Autofocus Lens is designed to capture these shots with cinematic traits, delivering the best possible results without incurring a significant expense. The lens features a super-fast aperture (f1.4), ample mount compatibility, and video-friendly features, which help create the aforementioned five shots to professional standards.
For example, the Aurora 35 mm works exceptionally well when shooting an OTS shot, adding a smooth, shallow depth of field that blurs the immediate shoulder. Similarly, it works extremely well, just like any other macro lens, for close-up and extreme close-up shots, thanks to its wide aperture. A highly recommended lens for shooting professional-grade narrative-building shots this year, and the best part is that it costs significantly less than similarly specced lenses.
Wrapping Up:
The above-mentioned five camera types of shots are pillars to build a narrative in professional filmmaking. To get the best results in terms of video optical quality, low-light performance, and cinema-grade video vibe, the SIRUI Aurora 35mm is a fantastic option this year.
