What is this style of shot called?

L

Lee Stokes

Member
The shot is two people crossing a city street.
I want to physically set up the camera as far away from my actors as possible, zooming in (from the start of the shot, not during) to achieve the framing I need.

Is there a name for that shot? Where the camera is a great distance from the subject? The actors wouldn't be "small" within the frame due to the zooming in before we started rolling, but while maintaining the framing, I want the camera far away as possible.

I hope I am explaining what I want clearly.

Lee
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I believe you are talking about a telephoto shot. In a long shot the scale of the object shown is small.
 
Yeah, should be a telephoto shot. Everything gets large (so objects both close and far get compressed almost to the same scale, so things in the background look huge, or the distance seems less).

There was a great example in the recent Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie where they are standing in the middle of a runway and an aircraft lands behind them and almost seems to engulf them it looks so huge.
 
It probably has to do with the way I try to explain it... They always get hung up on the word "zoom", they tend to think I mean during the shot, when I mean zooming in before 'action', and not zooming in or out during the actual filming.
"Telephoto" shot might help.

Lee
 
Instead of using the word "zoom", tell them you want to shoot at the "long" end of the lens. which is a telephoto shot.
 
rsbush said:
Instead of using the word "zoom", tell them you want to shoot at the "long" end of the lens. which is a telephoto shot.
Click to expand...

This.

I thought OP meant part of the shot would be filmed wider and then part during a zoom...or something.

Lee, for reference -

Wide Angle lenses are synonymous with Short lenses, which have a smaller focal length (under 50mm);
Telephoto lenses are synonymous with Long lenses (over 50mm).

When you want a wide field of view and greater depth of field, you use a Wide Angle or Short lens; and when you want a narrow field of view with shallower depth of field, you use a Long lens. For most intents and purposes, this will be true. Communicate to your DP in these terms or, better yet, use the actual focal lengths like, "Let's go with the 25mm for this shot." If you're using a camcorder with a fixed lens, you can ask your DP to zoom in while you are framing the shot before you roll, explaining the characteristics you want from the lens - field of view, depth of field, WIDE/MED/MCU/CU/ECU, etc.

The word "ZOOM" in a shot's description - like on a shot list - implies a change in focal length while rolling, which requires someone to operate the zoom. If all you want is to use the lens "zoomed in" for a shot, you would describe the shot by how it frames the subject -

EST. (establishing) WIDE means you see a lot of the environment and the subject, if present, is small by comparison
WIDE typically means full-body and some environment
MED typically means mid-thigh-up or waist-up
MCU typically means a 3-button or 2-button shot with headroom
CU typically means 2-button-up or neck-line-up with no headroom
BCU typically means tight on nothing but the face
ECU typically means very tight on only a portion of the face like the eyes or lips

...then you would describe the focal length. If you're using a fixed lens camera or a zoom lens whose range you don't know, you can just put Wide/Telephoto or Short/Long Lens down on shot list, and then work with your DP to frame it up on set. If you're working with interchangeable lenses, it's typically better to mention the focal length(s) you want for the shot.


What I thought you wanted was a LONG SHOT, which is synonymous with a WIDE SHOT, however, I have often seen it used to describe a WIDE SHOT achieved via a Long Lens, in order to compress the space - like looking through binoculars - whereas a Wide Angle Lens would exaggerate the distance.
 
Thank you, this is good information... to be honest, i am not a very 'technical' director & am not super interested in becoming one. But at least knowing the jargon will help, especially as I work with DP's I don't know. The guy I use most often already knows my 'book', so he is easy.

Thanks again!
Lee
 
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