Shot types and their intended effect

Many shot types are employed just about any film made, and they are all there for a purpose be that to move the story along or to show the audience something that they may have not noticed otherwise. So here is a run down of commonly used shot types, examples and their intended effect on the audience.

Close up
This is an extremely common shot that appears in just about every film, as it can be used to show the audience a detail that they may have missed, be it a facial expression, a twitch or an object that has significance in regard to the scene or film in general. This can also be seen as setting up an enigma code, a shot of something that isn't explained leaving it up to the audience to figure out.

Extreme long shot
Extreme long shots is exactly what it sounds like, it's a long shot taken from extremely far away; t can be used as an establishing shotby showing the exterior.

Master
Is the recording of an entire scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the characters in view; it is usually a long shot, and can be used as an establishing shot.

Extreme close up
This differs from the close up by focusing on a smaller detail, for example, an eye.

Mid/medium shot
A medium shot is usually framed from the waist up and is used to show a subjects’ facial expression in context of their body language.
Long shot
A long shot shows an entire object or human figure, it is usually used to place the subject in relation to its surroundings.

Establishing
An establishing shot sets up or established the context for a scene; it is usually a long or extreme long shot.

Insert
Is a shot of part of a scene from a different angle or focal length from the master shot; they cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasizes a different aspect of the action due to the different framing.