Shot Types

A spy film usually contains a lot of action sequences, this means fast editing cuts are used quite often. When producing our opening sequence we will need to think about cinematography the whole time, there are many shot types that we can use to ensure a fast paced opening sequence to our spy film. We could use a long shot to establish the location, a mid shot to establish a character and a close-up shot to show expression on the characters face. We could also play around with low angled and high angled shots to show weakness and domination. between two characters. If we have a character running through the frame, to make it more exciting we could do more than have a static shot using a tripod locked in place. To make the shot more exciting we could track the subject using camera movement. We could achieve this by going handheld, which would add camera shake to the footage adding more tension. We could also use a tripod dolly to achieve a smooth rolling tracking shot, instead of using a proper track to achieve the dolly effect, we could go 'guerrilla film-maker' style and use a wheelchair or office chair with wheels. Within a fast paced scene pan, tilt and swivel shots could be affective by adding more movement to the camera shots. To achieve a crane jib style shot, we could simply lift the camera high up in the air with it on a tripod.

Below is the perfect example of a tracking and crane shot. it is the opening shot from the film Touch of Evil by Orsen Welles, and is said to be the single longest shot in the history of cinema. The shot tracks the movement of vehicles and people walking by using a camera crane on the back of a truck. We believe that this type of shot could be achieved on a low budget.

During conversations in the opening sequence we will have to ensure we stick to the 180 degree rule, and that we don't cross the imaginary line. To achieve this we will need to make sure one character is talking left to right, and the other is talking right to left, so their eyes are both crossing a point in the 180 degree line. However the basic 180 degree rule conversation, with over the shoulder and reaction shot's can be quite boring to watch, to add more excitement to a conversation we could use a split screen and have both subjects talking on a phone at different locations in the frame at once. The image to the right of this paragraph gives an example of the split screen phone call shot.

Point of view shots (POV) can put the viewer into the characters body by showing us everything the character is seeing. For example we could film a POV shot of our main character running through the corridor.

The short scene below shows James Bond driving his submarine car into the sea. An example of a POV shot is in the scene just as they are driving into the sea, and also another POV shot is shown when they are under water.