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  • Introduction
  • Modules
    • Module 1 : Citizenship, Freedom of Expression and Information, Access to Information, Democratic Discourse and Life-long Learning
      • Unit 1: Understanding Media and Information Literacy – An Orientation
      • Unit 2: MIL and Civic Participation
      • Unit 3: Interactive with Media and Other Information Providers such as Libraries, Archives and the Internet
      • Unit 4: MIL, Teaching and Learning
    • Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics
      • Unit 1: Journalism and Society
      • Unit 2: Freedom, Ethics and Accountability
      • Unit 3: What Makes News – Exploring the Criteria
      • Unit 4: The News Development Process – Going Beyond the 5Ws and 1H
    • Module 3: Representation in Media and Information
      • Unit 1: News Reporting and the Power of the Image
      • Unit 2: Industry Codes on Diversity and Representation
      • Unit 3: Television, Films, Book Publishing
      • Unit 4: Representation and Music Videos
      • Unit 5: Digital Editing and Computer Retouching
    • Module 4: Languages in Media and Information
      • Unit 1: Reading Media and Information Texts
      • Unit 2: The Medium and the Message – Print and Broadcast News
      • Unit 3: Film Genres and Storytelling
      • Unit 4: Camera Shots and Angles – Conveying Meaning
    • Module 5: Advertising
      • Unit 1: Advertising, Revenue and Regulations
      • Unit 2: Public Service Announcements
      • Unit 3: Advertising – the Creative Process
      • Unit 4: Advertising and the Political Arena
      • Unit 5: Transnational Advertising and ‘Superbrands’
    • Module 6: New and Traditional Media
      • Unit 1: From Traditional Media to New Media Technologies
      • Unit 2: Uses of New Media Technologies in Society – Mass and Digital Communications
      • Unit 3: Use of Interactive Multimedia Tools, Including Digital Games in Classrooms
    • Module 7: Internet Opportunities and Challenges
      • Unit 1: Young People in the Virtual World
      • Unit 2: Challenges and Risks in the Virtual World
    • Module 8: Information Literacy and Library Skills
      • Unit 1: Concepts and Applications of Information Literacy
      • Unit 2: Learning Environments and Information Literacy
      • Unit 3: Digital Information Literacy
    • Module 9: Communication, MIL and Learning – a Capstone Module
      • Unit 1: Communication, Teaching and Learning
      • Unit 2: Learning Theories and MIL
      • Unit 3: Managing Change to Foster an Enabling Environment for MIL in Schools
    • Module 10: Audience
    • Module 11: Media, Technology and the Global Village
      • Unit 1: Media Ownership in Today’s Global Village
      • Unit 2: Socio-Cultural and Political Dimensions of Globalized Media
      • Unit 3: Commoditization of Information
      • Unit 4: The Rise of Alternative Media
    • Module 12: Freedom of Expression Toolkit
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Home / Modules / Module 4: Languages in Media and Information / Unit 4: Camera Shots and Angles – Conveying Meaning

Module 4: Languages in Media and Information

Unit 4: Camera Shots and Angles – Conveying Meaning

DURATION: 2 hours

KEY TOPICS

  • Exploring and analyzing camera shots and angles in media texts
  • Developing a shot list for camera work

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this unit, teachers will be able to:

  • Identify and analyze the use of camera shots and angles in a variety of media and information texts
  • Analyze the effect of particular shots and angles on the messages conveyed and on audiences
  • Select appropriate camera work to capture an event, such as a political rally or debate, or a community festival or celebration

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES and ACTIVITIES

  • Survey the media to find examples of media and information texts that make effective use of one or more of the camera shots and angles listed in the box at the end of the module. Consider checking newspaper photographs, television news footage, film clips or clips from television programmes. Describe the meaning that is conveyed through the camera ‘languages’ used in each text
  • Find an example of a still image or photograph, a clip from a television programme or news footage. Examine it closely. Describe how the subject is positioned in the photo or footage. What impression is conveyed as a result? Describe how the audience is positioned in relation to the subject. If you were to substitute a different camera angle or shot, how could this change the meaning conveyed through the photo or footage?
  • Imagine you are a videographer or photographer covering a political rally or community festival or celebration. What camera angles and types of shots would you choose to use in your coverage and why? Develop a shot list for covering the event. How would this camera work help to convey the necessary information and the desired impression of the event?
CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES

CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES

TYPES OF SHOTS

Abbreviation/ meaning/ description/ effect:
ECU – extreme close up of eyes/face: aggression, discomfort
CU – close up of head/reaction: intimacy
CU head and shoulders – 2–3 people
MS – medium shot: to waist, 2–3 people
MLS – medium-long shot: full-body normal view
LS – long shot: room, normal view
ELS – extreme long shot: house, establishing the setting
ES – establishing shot: city, establishing the venue

CAMERA ANGLES

Low angle: camera looks up – subject looks large – creates an impression of power
Normal or straight angle: camera looks at the subject from eye-level – subject looks equal to viewer, who feels equal to, and may even identify with, subject
High angle: camera looks down – subject appears small – creates an impression of weakness

FILM TERMS

Frame: a single still picture or image
Shot: the images that are filmed from the time the camera starts to the time it stops, with no cuts
Sequence: a series of shots on the same subject
Cut: stop one shot / abruptly start second; creates the impression of different places, same time
Fade out/in: go to black / go from black to picture; suggests passage of time, change of place
Pan: camera moves from left-to-right or right-to-left across scene from one subject to another – can be used to create suspense
Zoom: camera moves in (tight) or out (wide)
Tilt: camera moves vertically, up or down

Adapted from Mass Media and Popular Culture Resource Binder. Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada

ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Identification of camera work in a variety of media texts
  • Analysis of still images, photographs or news footage for symbolic and technical codes
  • Outline of camera work for coverage of a rally or celebration
  • Unit 1: Reading Media and Information Texts
  • Unit 2: The Medium and the Message – Print and Broadcast News
  • Unit 3: Film Genres and Storytelling
  • Unit 4: Camera Shots and Angles – Conveying Meaning

Modules

  • Module 1 : Citizenship, Freedom of Expression and Information, Access to Information, Democratic Discourse and Life-long Learning
  • Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics
  • Module 3: Representation in Media and Information
  • Module 4: Languages in Media and Information
  • Module 5: Advertising
  • Module 6: New and Traditional Media
  • Module 7: Internet Opportunities and Challenges
  • Module 8: Information Literacy and Library Skills
  • Module 10: Audience
  • Module 11: Media, Technology and the Global Village
  • Module 12: Freedom of Expression Toolkit

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