BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Beginner’s guide to the

filmmaking process:
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Camera position and angle

Where to put the camera?
Experienced filmmakers don’t just shoot
everything from eye level.
Pointing the camera upwards – a low angle
shot – will make people or things look
powerful or threatening.
Using a high angle shot makes them look
smaller or weaker. Even using a birdseye
shot from directly overhead can bring interesting
perspective.

Putting the camera in different places around the

subject as well is a great practice.
Filming from directly in front makes people feel
really engaged, or from the side will show an
observer’s point of view.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Camera Position and Angle

• Different camera positions can help tell a story

• Shots can be framed from above or below, as

well as from eye level

• Shots should be taken from different positions

around the subject as well

• Actors should be looking in the right direction

It’s important to make sure that shots from different

camera positions and angles work together when
they are put together in the film.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Camera angle
Low angle shots are where the camera points upwards from below, make people (and things) look
bigger, more courageous and more important.
These shots are also good for filming people who are looking down at things, so it captures their face
rather than the top of their head.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Camera angle
High angle shots are from above and they usually make people or things look weaker and less
powerful.

Putting high and low angle shots together shows that one person (filmed from a low angle) is more
powerful than another person (filmed from a high angle). It can be quite subtle, rather than using
extreme low or high angles.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Birdseye shots, from directly above, can look cool. They give you another way to show how things in
the scene relate to each other.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Wormseye shots, from below, are a bit more unusual but they can be useful if the scene above is
interesting.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

Camera position
Camera can move around the subject as well.

A head-on frontal view makes us feel really engaged with the subject. It’s often used as a subjective
shot, where we see the person as if we’re looking through the eyes of another character.
BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

A three-quarter view feels a bit less involved.

BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

In a side view its more as if we’re just watching a subject as an observer.

BASIC CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNER FILMMAKERS

A back view can mean several things: we’re seeing subjects from the view of a watcher; they are
ignoring another character; or they are upset and vulnerable and hiding their emotions.