Grammar of the Shot

Christopher J. Bowen has worked within the motion media industries for over 18 years as a cinematographer, editor, director, and educator. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Film Production and Visual Media Writing at Framingham State University. He is also an Avid Certified Instructor, Creative Director of his own media production company, Fellsway Creatives, and author of the companion text, Grammar of the Edit.

Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One – The Shots: What, How and Why? What to Show Your Audience? Choosing Your Frame Aspect Ratio A Brief History of Aspect Ratios Further Exploration – Why We Might Like Widescreen so Much An Introduction to Shot Types - The Basic Building Blocks of Motion Pictures Long Shot / Wide Shot Medium Shot Close-Up The Extended Family of Basic Shots – The Powers of Proximity Extreme Long Shot / Extreme Wide Shot Very Long Shot / Very Wide Shot Long Shot / Wide Shot / Full Shot Medium Long Shot / Knee Shot Medium Shot / Waist Shot / Mid Medium Close-Up / Bust Shot Close-Up Big Close-Up (UK) / Choker (USA) Extreme Close-Up Why Do We Even Have Different Shot Types? Pulling Images from the Written Page Script Breakdown for Cinematographers Shot Lists Storyboards Phases of Film Production Let’s PracticeChapter One Summation – The Pictures SpeakRelated Material Found in Chapter Seven: Working Practices Chapter One – Review Chapter One – Exercises & Projects Chapter One – Quiz Yourself Chapter Two – The Basics of Composition Simple Guidelines For Framing Human Subjects Headroom Subjective Versus Objective Shooting Styles Look Room / Nose Room The Rule of Thirds Camera Angle Horizontal Camera Angles360 Degrees MethodClock Face MethodCamera Position MethodThe Frontal ViewThe ¾ ViewThe Profile ViewThe ¾ Back ViewThe Full Back View Vertical Camera AnglesNeutral Angle ShotHigh Angle ShotHigh Angle of an IndividualHigh Angle as a POVHigh Angle of an EnvironmentLow Angle ShotLow Angle of