Know Your Shots, Speak With Film Lingo and Be Cool

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? Ever been on a set or around filmmakers and it sounds like their speaking another language? Are you learning about film making and want to learn some universal terms to help describe what type of shots you want to shoot? Well in this first installment, I’m going to talk about some common film lingo and define it. So let’s get started!

Let’s talk about shots. The shot of Catherine Trail and Jodi Essex above from Family Fiend would be considered a “two shot“. I’m a fan of two shots because you really get to see the interaction between the actors in the scene. The challenge is using it for really long dialog shots, because both actors have to nail it. Although you can always get a two shot then jump in for close-ups.

After the leap we’ll learn the lingo for character shots!

There are a lot of different terms for shots of a single person. When you hear a director and director of photography talking on set, this is the kind of stuff you’ll hear.

Let’s start with a Full Shot. This is just as it sounds, it’s a shot of the full body, from the top of the head to the feet. Next is a “Medium Full” which covers from the top of the head to the knees. (By the way, you can click on the picture to see a bigger version. It’s ok, it’s for educational purposes.) Your next shot is called a “Cowboy” because it goes mid-thigh where guns would be in a Western. Now we move the close-up or CU(which is what you’ll usually see on a shot list). A shot list is oddly enough a list of shots that will be needed to cover a scene. So if you film two people talking you may need a wide establishing shot to show the layout of the scene, then maybe a two shot, then an angle of each person talking (one while giving dialog and one reaction shot as the other actor speaks), maybe a close up for emphasis of something important or dramatic, maybe even an extreme close-up of the eyes or mouth (Sergio Leone style). Close-ups can refer to anything from a medium shot to an extreme close up of the eyes but they can be broken down into specifics. Let’s start with the the “Medium Shot,” which is waist up. Next you have a 3-Ts shot. This shot is from below the shirt pocket or breasts up. A choker is from the neck up and is named for obvious reasons. Just filming the face would be called a close-up or a 2-Ts (teeth and throat). Next you could move into to a 1-T which would just be teeth. This shot could also be called an extreme close-up or ECU. These shots can vary depending on what you are looking for or to grab make up effects, but usually it covers the eyes and mouth. You can call the other close-ups Extreme ECUs or just ECUs as well. These would be shots of just the eyes or the mouth or even the nose if you wanted to get nostrils flaring or sniffing.

Another term you’ll hear a lot is OTS which stands for Over The Shoulder. You see these a lot when characters are talking in films or even in documentaries. It is a very strong shot that puts us in the position of the person being addressed. If you’re filming these, make sure you follow the 180° rule so it isn’t jarring to the viewer unless that’s what you’re going for of course. In the diagram below I illustrate how the OTS works with the 180° rule. You can get away with putting your camera anywhere in the green part of the circle and you’re screen direction will be fine but if you jump to the other side, all of a sudden your actor will be facing the wrong way which is disorienting to the audience.

Well I believe that’s a good place to stop this week. Now you have some film making lingo in your vocabulary so impress your friends. Warning: This could also annoy your friends if you do it too much. Ask me how I know! 🙂

Thanks for reading. Please comment below and like the article above to help spread the word (plus then people will understand what you mean when you say…”Hey that’s a 3-T shot.”)