Camera Angles for chase scenes

Camera angles in the media

I have been researching many different types of camera shots that are commonly used in the action genre so that I can use them for my film opening and to make sure that I could find enough good images to use for my blog I went out and toke several photo's using certain camera shots and I also used a few existing photo's that were on google images so as some of the photo's I took were not good quality.

High angle shot

High angle shots are used to make the characters in the scene look weak and powerless as if something is looking down on them meaning that it has a higher status than them. this is commonly seen when the protagonist fights the antagonist as the antagonist will probably have a ultimate attack that they are hiding which could change the course of the fight. While high angle shots are used to make it the characters look week they can also be used ion chase scenes to create dramatic effect as if the person being chased is being watched from above normally by a helicopter in most action films which is why i'm going to try to implement this shot into my opening scene as I can make my scene more intense.

Low angle Shot

Low angle shots are the exact opposite of high angle shots in which they are used to make a character look more dominant and powerful as if someone is looking up to them. They are normally used when an important character is first revealed as they will commonly first be seen walking down some stairs as it suggest they are coming down to the characters level and when this happens the protagonist/antagonist will be looking up at the when they are coming down so we see that their P.O.V which is a low angle shot. However low angle shots are not used a lot in chase scenes so i'm not going to focus on adding one into the scene.

Close-up

One of the most common shots is the close-up. What this does is it shows the entire face of a certain character in a scene this shows the facial expressions of the character so we can tell how they are feeling at that moment in time these can be used to convey many different emotions such as sadness which is commonly used in scenes when one of characters friends are killed/injured, this could also be used to show anger  which can also involve the death of a friend, happiness can be conveyed after a battle has been won when the protagonist shows a sign of relief and the protagonist has prevailed and fear when the protagonist is being chased by something or being attacked by a monster or facing their worst fears. I plan on using close-ups to show fear in my scene as fear is normally conveyed in a close-up when a character is being chased.

Extreme close-up

Like the close-up shot an extreme close-up is used to show the facial expressions of a certain character however a extreme close-up is used to show a specific part of the characters face most commonly the eyes as it's much easier to tell how a character is feeling through their eyes than any other part of their body. They can also be used to show specific emotions in a character but it's much easier to convey sadness as it's easier to show tears if camera is closed in on their eyes. However an extreme close-up is much harder to use in a chase sequence as the camera needs to close in much more than a close-up which can be difficult as during chase sequences all of the characters are constantly moving about so I don't plan on using them in my opening scene. 

P.O.V shot

a P.O.V shot is when we see through the eyes of one of the characters in the scene this is used so we can see what they are seeing and we can then figure out how they are feeling at that moment in time. P.O.V shots are not always used they can be very difficult to pull off as it is only commonly used in certain genres of films such as horror films for example Cloverfield which is filmed with nothing but P.O.V shots. Also,there are many times when a P.O.V shot can be used in other genres such action when they are used when someone is driving a car, during a conversation, in a chase scene and many more which is why I may attempt put it into our film however it won't be my top priority.

Over the shoulder shot

An over the shoulder shot is used during a conversation so that we see over the shoulder of one of the characters and the face of the character they are talking to. This is used to show the feelings of the character whose face can be seen this is because the character whose face we can't see has/will most likely tell her something that will shock her so it's showing face while he's talking so we can see her reaction as soon as he tells her something. These can be done in almost any type of film genre as every film has a conversation scene in them so you'll most likely see a over the should shot in every film you see.

Medium shot

A medium shot is used to show the top half of the person in the clip they are commonly used when a small group of characters are talking to each other but are also used when someone is delivering information such as a news reporter, they can also be used to show part of the background and the facial expressions of the character in the clip.

Long shot

Long shots are used for similar reasons to medium shots but they show the entire character from top to bottom. these are commonly used if the director wants to show the the actor running as it shows their legs moving which convey how determined the protagonist is to outrun someone or catch someone, which is why i'll try to use it in my blog.

Extreme Long shot

A extreme long shot is used to show off the entire scene it is used a lot in large scale fight scenes such as the final fight at the end of the first avengers film. however it can also be used in chase sequences to create suspense such as a person jumping from building to building while being chased so a extreme long shot is used to show the building, the person being chased and the person chasing the other person so I will try to implement it into my film.

Panning shot

A panning shot is to track someone without using any editing the footage this used in chase scenes as it will normally make it look like a blur as if they were moving very fast which creates the effect that the person being chased and is determined not be caught so they use a panning shot to make it look like they are moving very fast because of this i'll try to use it in my film.

After researching different camera shots I believe that I can incorporate most of these camera shots into my opening as they can all be used to create suspense and tension which are some of the key features that are found in chase sequences.