Camera terms

Medium close up (m.c.u)

Medium close up are the bread and butter of shots of

most on screen conversations. 

A medium close up is close enough on the individual actor to allow her to be the full focus of attention, but it is not close enough to create an overly dramatic or intense mood. A M.C.U is a focal length that frames a person from the lower chest up. Like a medium shot, it is sometimes referred to as a single or angle on.

MCU Example: Jane. She turns to Matt and speaks.

Single-Anne. She smiles in recognition.

Close up (C.U)

A close up places more attention and thus more importance on the actor. A C.U fills the screen with that person’s face. It is framed from about the shoulders up and is often used to reveal important expressions or facial inflections.

Example C.U- Mark He is shocked to hear Jane won’t be coming. He stares for a moment, wondering weather Bill is behind this.

Extreme close up:(E.C.U) 

Close up as u can get on a person or thing without asking for a MACRO (Microscope) focal length. Extreme close up’s of people are usually used for dramatic impact. 

Example: extreme close up – Jill’s mouth, her chin begins to quiver. She is about to cry. Camera tilts up to her eyes. The tears come.

Long Shot

This is a shot made with a long focal length. Long shots actually magnify the scene, thus things can appear disprortionately large in the camera’s frame.

Example of L.S: The car moves down the highway approaching us from a distance. Heat waves ripple up off the hundred-degree tar in front of it. Bill is behind the wheel, wiping his forehead with a towel.

Medium Shot (M.S)

This is usually a shot of one individual from about the thighs up. It is sometimes more generally referred to as a single or angle on or simply on. A medium shot could be to move in on the action. It might also be used when the actor should be seen with a small part of his environment included in the shot.

Example of M.S: Bill. He gets up from his chair, walks

to the corner and stands beside the computer and

printer set up. He tears out a sheet of paper. 

The Angle is on Dale. He gets into the car. On Gary, He Pouts

Fade In/ Fade out

It's to note an open and close of a program, or a major transition within the body of the show. Means fade the picture from black or fade the picture out of black.

Dissolve

It's from one picture into another. Two fades, one fading whiles the other picture fading out. It's an overlapping visual effect. It’s meant to suggest a passage of time or a major change of location.

Cut

From on scene or shot to another. It means on picture ends and another begins.