Camera angles

Difference between Camera shots and angles?

Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of setting, themes and characters.

Camera angles are used to position the viewer so that they can understand the relationships between the characters. These are very important for shaping meaning in film as well as in other visual texts.

 

A bird's eye angle  is an angle that looks directly down upon a scene. This angle is often used as an establishing angle, along with an extreme long shot, to establish setting.

A high angle is a camera angle that looks down upon a subject. A character shot with a high angle will look vulnerable or small. These angles are often used to demonstrate to the audience a perspective of a particular character. The example above demonstrates to us the perspective or point of view of a vampire/politician/owner. As a viewer we can understand that the vampire feels powerful.

An eye-level angle puts the audience on an equal footing with the character/s. This is the most commonly used angle in most films as it allows the viewers to feel comfortable with the characters.

 

A low angle is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful. This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at the character.

The low angle can also be used in combination with any camera shot type, but the camera must be positioned down low at an angle looking up at the subject. Generally, a low angle is used to make the subject within the frame seem large, imposing, daunting or more powerful. The extremity of the angle can be altered, often causing the desired effect to be more or less impactful. In this case, the low angle wide shot of these trees makes them look dominant, reinforcing the power of nature.

This can help the responder feel empathy if they are viewing the frame from another character's 

 A Dutch angle is used to demonstrate the confusion of a character. The example should confuse you.

 

What is the Dutch angle?

The Dutch angle, also known as a canted angle or Dutch tilt, is achieved when the camera is rotated diagonally. When two characters are having an intense conversation,  the camera was slightly canted during the scene to give audiences a feeling of unease.  The Dutch angle is most common in the horror genre