Line #75 Main/CameraTricks


1	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/camera_trick_8.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:225:If I miss, I'll end up ''[[{{Pun}} on the cutting room floor]]''.]]
3	This is an assortment of things the camera can do in visual media. You can probably think of a few like slow motion, stop motion, split screen, and forced perspective, but there are ''hundreds of effects.'' Look at our list below, and be amazed at what your fellow Tropers have noticed being done with cameras. And if you notice one we've missed, we encourage you to edit this page and add it to our collection of wisdom.
4
5	Compare PhotographyAndIllustration and VariousVideogameViews. See also {{Formats}}, LightingTropes, and {{Montages}}.
6
7	----
8	[[index]]
9	!!Techniques:
10	[floatboxright:
11	'''Categories:'''
12	+ CutToTheIndex
13	+ SceneTransition
14	]
15	* AdrenalineTime - Use of regular speed and high speed or slow speed filming in the same scene
16	* AloneInACrowd- Standing while a crowd passes around you
17	* AspectRatioSwitch - Intentionally changing aspect ratios, for example from 4:3 to 16:9
18	* AstronomicZoom - A very long shot covering a huge change of area, for example, focusing on a house, then zooming into a blade of grass, or showing the earth, then zooming out to other planets or galaxies
19	* BackBlocking - When a person's back fills up most or all of the screen
20	* BackgroundBodyPart - Framing a character to look like they have an unusual body part, such as horns.
21	* BackgroundHalo - Placing a silhouette of light around (or above) a person's head
22	* BetweenMyLegs - A shot taken between someone's legs
23	* BinocularShot - A shot appearing to be through binoculars
24	* BulletTime - Camera moves around the scene as the image is in slow motion
25	* CameraAbuse - Shaking or apparent damage to the camera
26	* CameraSniper - Subject of an image appears as if in the sights of a sniper rifle
27	* ChromaKey - Using a solid color background (like blue or green screen) in the background to allow other visuals to show in place of the screen behind the person(s) or thing(s)
28	* CircularDrive - Drive or move objects or people in a circle around the camera to make it look like there are lots more things than there actually are
29	* CloseupOnHead - Extreme close up on head, often followed by a backup reveal showing an unusual view behind it
30	* ColorWash - Oversaturation of colors or a change of palette as an effect
31	* CompartmentShot - view of a container being opened from inside the container
32	* ConveyorBeltVideo - The camera continuously {{truck}}s to one side, creating the illusion of filming on a conveyor belt.
33	* {{Cucoloris}} - Use of a flat opaque object with holes in it for light diffusion
34	* CueTheBilliardShot - close up of someone shooting pool
35	* CrystalClearPicture - Fixing the de-sync between InUniverse screens and the camera to avoid RasterVision.
36	* DemonicHeadShake - A person's head moves in an unusual or very fast speed
37	* DesolationShot - View of abandoned city or other ruined or otherwise trashed area
38	* DiscretionShot - Something implied but not actually shown
39	* DoorFocus - The camera lingers on a door because it's going to be reopened after a {{Beat}}.
40	* DoubleVision - Someone playing two or more roles so they can appear to be in two or more places at once.
41	* DownHereShot - Looking down at someone small
42	* DrivingADesk - Sitting at a stationary object while the appearance of motion occurs behind them
43	* DrugsCausingSlowMotion - Slow-motion effects used to simulate the distorted perspective of someone under the influence of drugs.
44	* DutchAngle - Shots taken from a slanted/tilted camera angle
45	* EatTheCamera - Camera zooms into someone's mouth
46	* EpicTrackingShot - camera movement that defies typical expectations, with unusual complexity, length or "impossible" movement
47	* ExtremeCloseUp - cameras zoom up to the face of the character in focus, sometimes zooming right in their eyes
48	* {{Eyedscreen}} - Specialized focus on something, by using black bars on the area of the screen above and below it
49	* FaceFramedInShadow - A face half-covered by shadow,
50	* FalseCameraEffects - A shot that looks as if it had been filmed on a set with an actual camera using an unusual lens or other camera trick.
51	* FakeVideoCameraView - Video appears to be through the viewfinder of a camera as if we were watching someone the camera is recording
52	* FilmingForEasyDub- Making sure the character's mouth can't be seen so potentially different dialogue can be dubbed in later
53	* FishEyeLens - extremely wide-angle lens used to produce a sense of disorientation
54	* FlyAtTheCameraEnding - Something in the shot decides to start flying, and comes straight at the camera
55	* FlyawayShot - Camera slowly zooms out and gives an aerial view of the setting
56	* ForcedPerspective - exploitation of the camera's 2-D vision so that close objects appear larger and distant objects appear smaller
57	* GaussianGirl - Person shot through a soft-focus filter, a piece of translucent plastic, or blurry material such as vaseline smeared on the lens
58	* TheGraduateHomageShot - Person looking through a window at a wedding banging on the glass and calling the name of the bride or groom
59	* GraspTheSun - Character who is about to attempt some superhuman feat reaches out towards a celestial object with their hand, as if to grasp it
60	* HalfemptyTwoShot - A shot of one character is composed asymmetrically, as if the character is in a two-shot with an invisible second character
61	* HandOfDeath - Horror film-style view of a hand or a pair of hands, and possibly the murder weapon itself
62	* HatAndCoatShot - Let the audience know that the story is over and it is time to grab your hat and coat and go home
63	* HollywoodDarkness - A character switches off the last light in the room, a vaguely bluish weak light switches on
64	* HolyBacklight - A character is lit from behind by a blinding light, usually making the figure indistinct
65	* HuddleShot - characters form a huddle; the camera POV switches, looking directly upward at the characters' heads
66	* InCameraEffects - Special effects produced by altering the camera or its parts, such as black-and-white in a color camera
67	* ImpairmentShot - Camera trick used to indicate that the character whose POV we are seeing is drugged, poisoned, sick, injured, or otherwise incapacitated
68	* AnInsert - Close-up shot of hands, a document, a murder weapon, and so on
69	* InsertCameo - An Insert of the creator's hand (or, rarely, some other body part), usually standing in for that of one of the regular actors
70	* InUniverseCamera - camera actually present in the "world" of the story
71	* JuxtaposedHalvesShot - Juxtaposing half the face or body of two characters in the middle or putting them beside each other and showing only half of each person
72	* KuleshovEffect - A single dull facial expression taking on deeper meanings based on context
73	* LensFlare - Glare causing a chain of circles, on an imaginary line from the object through the center of the frame
74	* LowAngleEmptyWorldShot - Shot intended to make a crowded or busy area look deserted
75	* MatteShot - Filming in front of a {{painting\|s}}, most often used to portray a non-existent vista
76	* MediumTwoShot - A two-character shot that frames their heads and torsos.
77	* MeltingFilmEffect - Appearing as if the film being watched is melting
78	* MenacingHandShot - Framing shot meant to dramatically show that one character means to threaten or attack another
79	* MoodLighting - Use of filters or digital post-processing to change the tint of the film
80	* {{Mouthscreen}} - A person's mouth and lips are pretty much all showing on the screen
81	* MotionBlur - Indicate that something is moving really fast by showing it as just a blur
82	* NostrilShot - Close-up shot taken from a low position upward toward the actors, so as to flaunt their nostrils
83	* OneEyedShot - One-Eyed Shot is a camera trick where a person's eye is shown onscreen
84	* TheOner - One very long, uninterrupted camera shot
85	* OrbitalKiss - Two characters kiss, and the camera rotates a full 360 degrees around them as this happens
86	* OrbitalShot - One subject around whom the camera circles, so as to provide a rotating view from all sides
87	* OverTheShoulder - A dialog speaker's shoulder is shot in a way that frames their interlocutor's head.
88	* {{Overcrank}} - Frame rate at which the film is being shot is higher than normal, so that when played back at a normal speed the action is in slow motion
89	* PaddleballShot - Playing with 3D effects by making people and objects appear to reach out from the screen at the audience
90	* PanFromTheSkyBeginning - The view pans down from the sky at the beginning of an episode or movie.
91	* PanUpToTheSkyEnding - Used at the end of an episode or movie, wherein the view pans up to the sky upon conclusion of a story arc
92	* PicturePerfectPresentation - Focus at a picture of a location or scene, then the photo dissolves into a view of the identical spot
93	* PlummetPerspective - Someone is hanging on a ledge when an unimportant object falls, the camera moves into position to show it falling hundreds of feet
94	* PuzzlePan - When a video game has a complex puzzle to solve, the game's camera will frequently pan around the screen, silently tracing the correct route
95	* RackFocus - Changing the point of focus from one character or object in frame, to another character or object that is closer to or more distant from the camera
96	* RasterVision - Flicker caused by the mismatch between the framerate the video being recorded is at and the framerate of a TV set or other video onscreen
97	* RedFilterOfDoom - Where everything shifts to a basically white-red-black spectrum, is often used to facilitate a change in mood
98	* RevealShot - A partial view of a scene expands to show something else, which significantly changes the situation
99	* RoundaboutShot - Character (or several) would spin around; while they are doing this, said character(s) is/are shown in close-up
100	* RoundTableShot - Character focused in at a table when the camera rotates left or right to the next character
101	* SciFiFlyby - Using an establishing shot to show a cool ship
102	* ScreamDiscretionShot - Something horrible is visited upon a character but the viewer doesn't see it directly
103	* ScreenShake - Shake the screen to emphasize what is happening
104	* SecondPersonAttack - Someone attacks the victim through the POV of that victim
105	* ShadowDiscretionShot - Alluding to something bad or unpleasant by showing it in shadow
106	* ShakyPOVCam - Using the camera to represent the POV of some fast-moving object or creature
107	* ShotReverseShot - Repeated Over the Shoulder shots interrupted by the occasional Medium Two-Shot
108	* SkywardScream - Camera is placed directly over the actor, pointing down, while the actor looks up into the camera or at the sky overhead and screams
109	* SlowMotionDrop - character receives some shocking news, causing them to drop something, and we follow its fall in slow motion
110	* SlowMotionFall - A person falling backwards (or forwards) in slow-motion
111	* SlowMotionPassBy - Two persons/vehicles pass by each other in opposite directions and the video is slowed down
112	* SnowyScreenOfDeath - Screens giving a visual feed have gone full of static
113	* SocialSemiCircle - Characters sit in an awkward semi-circle around a table so as to avoid anyone sitting with their backs to the camera/audience
114	* SplitScreen - Showing two or more people in different locations onscreen at the same time
115	* SplitScreenPhoneCall - Both people on a phone call are shown simultaneously
116	* SplitScreenReaction - To show the reactions of all involved in some event, the screen is split into sections
117	* SpreadWingsFrameShot - A character is framed so it appears to sprout wings
118	* StairwellChase - Someone is being chased up or down a flight of stairs
119	* StaggeredZoom - Three or more shots, varying in distance but focused on the same point, cut together rapidly
120	* StalkerShot - The camera reveals someone stalking another character without their knowledge
121	* StopMotion - Animate models, one frame at a time
122	* StopTrick - Stop the camera, change or add something to the shot, and start it again with everything else in the same positions
123	* SymbolicSereneSubmersion - Visual metaphor where a person is passively submerged in an ocean, pool, or other body of water for symbolic reasons
124	* TalkingHeads
125	* ThreeCameras
126	* TimeLapse
127	* TrackingShot
128	** EpicTrackingShot
129	** ObjectTrackingShot
130	* TraitorShot
131	* TransformationDiscretionShot
132	* TrunkShot
133	* {{Undercrank}}
134	* UnnaturallyBlueLighting
135	* UnrevealAngle
136	* VertigoEffect
137	* VisibleBoomMic
138	* WalkAndTalk
139	* WarmPlaceWarmLighting - Using an unnatural orange or yellow ColorWash to denote a setting's heat
140	* WhipPan
141	* WidescreenShot
142	* ZoomedOutReframingGag
143
144	!!!Various kinds of "Cams"
145	* ArrowCam
146	* DizzyCam
147	* EyeCam
148	* FaceCam
149	* FakeVideoCameraView
150	* HitlerCam
151	* ImpendingDoomPOV
152	* JitterCam
153	* MouthCam
154	* NecroCam: A FlashbackMontageRealization about how a character died.
155	* POVCam
156	* RoboCam
157	* SteadiCam
158
159	!!!Standard shot mechanics and terms
160	* DepthOfField: The span of distance along the shot axis in which objects will be in focus.
161	* {{Dolly}}: Moving the camera toward or away from the subject (z-axis).
162	* MediaNotes/FocalLength: The degree of magnification in a camera lens.
163	* MotionParallax: Emulating the distance/perception of movement dichotomy (farther=slower) through layers.
164	* {{Pan}}: Horizontally rotating the camera to get a grasp of the panorama.
165	* {{Tilt}}: Vertically rotating the camera.
166	* {{Truck}}: Horizontally moving the camera without rotating it.
167	* {{Zoom}}: Changing the MediaNotes/FocalLength of the camera.
168
169	!!!Editing
170	* AspectRatio
171	** {{Letterbox}}
172	** PanAndScan
173	** VisualCompression
174	* TheKenBurnsEffect
175	* RecurringCameraShot
176	* VideoEditingTerminology
177
178	!!!Other camera tricks
179	[[foldercontrol]]
180
181	[[folder:Camera Chase]]
182	In a documentary or news program, the narrator walks briskly towards the camera for no good reason to convey a sense of "dynamic energy" or some such rubbish. Often parodied by having the announcer hit his head on the camera. May also include instances where the reporter/narrator walks toward the camera, not briskly, but kind of slowly as if to impart a sense of intimacy.
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:Framed Subject]]
186	The camera is positioned so that the subject, usually a person, is framed by something in the background such as a window or a doorway.
187
188	This has a psychological effect on the viewer and is intended to provoke a sympathetic response.
189
190	Can be used anywhere but watch for it in news interviews and commercials.
191
192	This may be part of a larger trope, using blocking and camera position to influence the viewer. See:
193
194	* Dutch Angle
195	* Half-Empty Two-Shot
196	* HitlerCam
197	* Vertigo Effect
198	[[/folder]]
199
200	[[folder:Head Cam]]
201	The Head Cam is a helmet with a snakelike appendage that holds a miniature video camera in front of the wearer's face. The wearer is always in focus and centered in the camera's view while their background goes bouncing and jiggling behind. Perspective can be exaggerated by the extreme wide-angle or fisheye lens necessary to get the entire face in the shot at such close range.
202
203	The Head Cam is often seen in reality TV shows like ''Series/TheMole'' and ''Series/FearFactor.'' Peter Gabriel also used such a camera on his Secret World Live tour for the song "Digging in the Dirt" (you can see it in action on the DVD from this tour).
204
205	Similar to the {{Facecam}}, except the Face Cam isn't mounted in a helmet.
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Pedestal]]
209	Refers to moving the camera vertically without changing the angle at which it points (that would be a {{Tilt}}). Usage: "pedestal up," "pedestal down".
210
211	The name is a reference to the spring or gas counterbalanced stand to which a studio camera is mounted (they can also be power adjustable). This same move can be renamed according to the equipment used, i.e. "boom up", "crane up", etc.
212	[[/folder]]
213
214	[[folder:Split Diopter]]
215	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ReservoirDogs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/split_diopter.jpg]]]]
216	[[caption-width-right:350:Notice the blur line in the middle.]]
217
218	A diopter is a filter that works similar to a magnifying glass, making a lens focus closer. A split diopter has it on only one side, meaning that one side focuses close and the other farther away. This allows objects at different distances from the camera (usually on the left and right side of the screen) to be in focus simultaneously. (Compare RackFocus where only one part is in focus at a given time.)
219
220	Used to great effect in ''Film/TheThing1982'', for example, where dark sets disguised the blurred region in the middle of the split shot. Sometimes used by first-time directors as a way to "show off" their technical skills.
221
222	Although it can be, and often is, used as a special effect, a scene as simple as two characters conversing might call for a split diopter (or a tilt/shift lens, which provides a similar effect by allowing the focal plane to be tilted so it is no longer parallel to the film) if the characters are not at the same distance from the camera. Of course, many shots are staged with the characters equally distant from the camera precisely because no special optics are needed.
223	[[/folder]]
224
225	[[folder:Split Edit]]
226	When the video and audio transitions between scenes are not matched up. For instance, a character is describing a place or person. HardCut (or {{dissolve}}, or whatever) to the featured person or place, while the description continues in voice over. Conversely, a character sets out on a journey, and the roar of a landing jet rudely fades in before the cut to the inevitable LandingGearShot. Used to tighten continuity between shots. Also known as an L Cut or a J Cut, from the physical shape of the cut on a film strip (where audio is below video).
227
228	Many times used in interviews, cutting to the subject before the question is finished, to show reactions. Often very useful, as the reporter's side of the interview is often shot well after the interview is over -- field crews seldom carry more than one camera.
229
230	See also TransitionTrack.
231	[[/folder]]
232
233	[[folder:Wet-for-Dry]]
234	Wet-for-dry is a term in the film industry for a special effect wherein an actor or prop is filmed in a water-filled tank, then imposed onto the film most often via ChromaKey or similar technology. The purpose of this is either to facilitate SlowMotion or to create the image of a supernatural creature not entirely bound by gravity. Filming in water works most effectively on hair and other long, flexible appendages, so expect this effect to take full advantage of such.
235
236	The opposite of wet-for-dry is dry-for-wet, where a subject filmed on a stage is imposed onto a water backdrop to avoid having to film underwater, thus making it possible for actors to do a scene while also being able to, for instance, breathe.
237	[[/folder]]

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