Filming Techniques

The more research into filming techniques I do, I come across more and more different types of shots and skills. Consequently I have documented some more of my research into filming techniques below.

Conversation Shots

Conversation shots are where there are two or more characters in a shot conversing with one another. There are different techniques to conversation shots. Below are some of the different types of conversation shots I found during my research.

Over-the-shoulder Shot

This is a shot of someone or something taken at an angle over another persons shoulder. This is shown in the image below.

Face to Face

This shot is where two characters are positioned opposite each other (hence face to face) in the shot. An example of this is shown in the image below.

Two Shot

This where you can see the faces of both people in shot. This is shown in the image below.

Over the head

This is where a shot of someone or something is taken at an angle over another persons head. An example of this shown in the image below.

Focus Techniques

There are two standard definitions of focus, these are;

1. The position where the rays of light from a lens intersect forming a clear and sharply defined image on a focal plane.

2. The action of adjusting the distance between the lens and the subject to make light rays intersect forming a clear and sharply defined image of the subject.   

Below I have listed some examples of common focusing techniques. 

Manual Focus
This is where the photographer/videographer has to physically adjust the focus of the lens by hand.

Depth of Field

This is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused image. This is described in more detail with examples in the video below.