Read here to explore an in-depth example of a wide shot in film and learn how this cinematographic technique enhances visual storytelling by establishing context, emphasizing scale, and creating emotional impact.
Introduction:
In the modern film industry, wide shots are planned to serve a number of functions in direction. They can be used to create spatial relationships in a frame, can pull viewers’ attention to invite viewers into calm or make them feel overwhelmed by relentless chaos, or foreshadow upcoming story elements to set the mood.
The wide shots captured in today’s industry can be classified into different types; each serves several critical narrative functions in a video. The most common wide shots and their examples are as follows:
Types of Wide Shots in Videography:
1. Establishing Shot:
As the name suggests, this wide shot establishes the scene with respect to location or time. The main goal for this shot is to orient the audience to the context of the upcoming scene, and it does that by capturing a broad view of a setting, which may overlap with wide or very wide scenes later in the film.
An example of a wide shot for establishing intent is the opening scene from Star Wars: A New Hope, when the camera pans down from space, revealing several planets, and in between them, there is a massive Star Destroyer from the Empire.
2. The Wide Shot / Full Shot
WS is a term given to a standard wide shot that comfortably frames the subject inside it and is fully visible. This shot also shows a good portion of the background environment and provides a good amount of context, both to the character and the location he is standing in.
An example of a wide shot is all those scenes from The Lord of the Rings trilogy where Gandalf is seen completely in frame within sweeping landscapes.
3. The Extreme Wide Shot
As the name suggests, these shots take wide-angle videos to the extreme, in which the subject is barely visible or may not be visible at all. These shots are made to capture the vastness or scale of the setting around the subject and convey the story on a broader scale.
An example of a wide shot in extremes is the desert scenes from Lawrence of Arabia, in which he becomes a small figure within a vast sand environment. Such scenes emphasize the loneliness of the character and how small he is in the frame.
4. Master Shot
This shot serves as a foundation for the editors to return to during editing. These scenes serve as a continuous base as it is shot from start to finish during the entire scene. It is captured from a camera angle that frames all the characters in a scene, and their key elements are visible in the frame.
An example of a wide shot of this type is the 12-minute super impressive master shot of Extraction 2020, in which Tyler Rake places the viewer directly in the middle of his breathtaking combat scene.
5. The Cowboy Shot
Literally taking its name from movies (and also known as the American shot), it is captured as a medium-long camera shot and captures a subject from the top of the head to roughly around the knee area. This shot became a thing when American movies of the Wild West were mainstream, and they were made to let the audience see both the characters' faces and their holstered guns.
An example of a cowboy shot is the famous gunfight scene in A Fistful of Dollars, starring Clint Eastwood. If you watch that scene again, notice how the frame was maintained to show their weapons with the body.
Best Camera Lens for Wide Shots in 2025
In the cinematic universe, anamorphic lenses are considered staples, as they are built to retain high detail in wide aspect ratios and also render blue flares and beautiful oval bokeh. One such piece of optical hardware in the current market is the SIRUI Saturn 35/50/75mm Full-frame Carbon Fiber Anamorphic Lens kit which is designed for today’s content creators and indie filmmakers to go beyond their creativity limitations.
The lenses feature the next generation of anamorphic optics, which can shoot content in 1.6x squeeze, yielding a widescreen aspect ratio like 2.39:1. Such a video has coveted horizontal expansion with unique oval bokeh without feeling overly distorted.
The T2.9 keeps things super bright and retains edge-to-edge sharpness, just like you see in Hollywood. And all this at a price that is 3 times less than similar classes of lenses. For folks aiming to shoot the above wide-angle shots, it is recommended to try this lens series for near Hollywood and cinematic quality results.
Wrapping Up:
We covered here an example of a wide shot and its respective types. All these wide shots, at a fundamental level, can perform several key functions that are commonly used in video production by professionals. To shoot cinematic-grade wide shots of these types, consider investing in the SIRUI Saturn lens kit, which is built with next-generation optics and delivers stunning results.
