The Language of Film

Many people don't usually realize this, but just about every movie uses the camera angles, or cinematography, as a way of describing a scene, giving details about the setting, or even defining a character's emotions. Three types of shots that are very common in film are the long shot, middle shot, and close-up; when these angles are used correctly they can tell us much about the scene and the mood without a single line of dialouge. For my example I decided to use Peter Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Long Shot

-this angles pans across the fields of the Shire as the protagonist Frodo Baggins is reading a book. It establishes both the new environment in which the scene is taking place and introduces us to the new character. It also establishes that the Shire is a peaceful and beautiful place.

Middle Shot

- the mid-shot shows the wise wizard Gandalf the Grey as he approaches Frodo. Because it is a closer angle it gives more detail to the characters, and it also works much better for scenes with dialouge than long shots. You also get a better feel for the two characters in the scene.

Close-Up

- the close shot allows the audience to see the facial expressions of the characters in the scene. In this particular scene you see that Frodo is pretending upset with Gandalf, until they both cannot hold their straight faces and start laughing. The angle really lets you connect with characters and gives you a better understanding of who they are.

The full scene can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wiebk9sIqSo