A shot is a camera take of some form of action within a scene. It is simply defined by 2 breaks in editing: the start and finish points.
A video sequence might comprise several types of shots, such as close-up, medium angle and wide angle. It might start with a close-up of hands, then move to a face, and then pull back to reveal where the person is sitting or standing. It helps the story unfold. There are 3 types of popular sequences:
- 2-shot sequences, comprising a wide shot and then a close-up (or vice versa)
- 3-shot sequences, comprising a wide shot, a medium shot and then a close-up (often at different angles)
- 5-shot sequences that use different combinations, such as close-up, wide shot, point-of-view shot and unusual angle.
Shots often used in video productions include:
- talking head (basic head-and-shoulders shot of a person)
- point of view (showing what the subject is looking at)
- symbols
- montage
- cut-ins (close-up shots)
- cut-aways (shots moving directly away from the action shot to another shot)
- observational (shots in real time that appear unedited)
- lab
- web cam
- stills.
