What are camera techniques?
Shot sizes, camera angles and camera movements all determine what the audience sees and how they see it.
The director’s camera choices are important:
- They guide the viewer's focus.
- They create emotional responses.
- They enhance visual storytelling.
Video - camera techniques
Check out the camera techniques in this film.
Where the camera is, how far it is from the subject and how it moves can have a big impact on your film.
Steady shots can feel calm. Handheld can feel more in-the-moment or energetic.
Distance matters too: wide shows the space, medium keeps us with the action, and close-up brings us nearer to emotion.
Angles change how we feel about a character or moment. Camera angles can shape how the audience sees a character or how a moment feels.
The camera doesn’t just show the story; it helps tell it.
Key points
- Shot sizes
- Close ups show detail and emotion.
- Medium shots can show characters as a 'natural' distance, their actions or how characters relate to each other
- Wide shots show where we are and give a sense of scale.
- Camera angles
- OTS (over-the-shoulder) shots help relate characters to each other.
- High angle shots can make characters or objects appear smaller or vulnerable.
- Low angle shots can make them appear more important, heroic or powerful.
- Camera movement
- Static shots can seem calm or controlled
- Pans, tilts, tracking shots can lead action or follow action.
- Smooth camera moves keep the audience focused on the story and action.
- Shaky, handheld camera moves can add tension and excitement.
On screen examples - camera techniques
- Image source, Universal Pictures / Syncopy / Atlas Entertainment / Landmark Media / Alamy
Image caption, Extreme close-up
'Oppenheimer' tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film uses extreme close-ups of the lead character to emphasise the intense pressure and emotional discomfort he experiences. This helps the audience to connect with his inner turmoil.
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Try this - camera techniques
Watch this video and give this camera techniques exercise a go!
Pick an everyday action that is easy to repeat.
It could be active like walking somewhere or doing a sport, or a more static activity like reading or drawing.
Film the same action in a wide shot, a medium shot and a close-up.
Then change the angle: high, eye level and low.
Try a point of view or POV (we show an example) shot, as if we are seeing through the character’s eyes. I
f you can, test zooming and then physically stepping closer.
Notice how different it feels.
What do you like best?
Roles/Departments
Director - Plans each shot using shot lists and/or storyboards and works with the cinematographer to develop a shooting style.
Cinematographer - Works with the director to develop the shooting style and then is responsible for filming on-set.
Camera department - Roles such as 1st AC (Assistant Camera), 2nd AC and Grip work beneath the cinematographer, to set up and use camera equipment to achieve each desired shot.
Camera trainee/Runner - Entry level job in the camera department, who helps with organising equipment and any errands their team needs doing.
Think about
- What type of shot size would best suit this moment?
- What kind of camera angle would suit this moment?
- What feeling does it create when you move the camera or keep it still?
Things to look for
- Use a variety of camera techniques to keep your content interesting.
- Changing the shot size, angle or movement creates a different feeling.
- Develop a style of filming which fits the story you are telling.
Things to consider
- Don’t use the same shot sizes or angles over and over again. Mix it up!
- Details are important - how are using the camera to pick up on them?
- Move the camera with the action.
- Think about coverage - capturing the same scene in different shots and this gives you options when editing.
- If you are filming a scene just as one shot, don’t stay still. Try moving around to make it interesting.
