As the film making process evolved, there has been also an addition of terminologies that have been often used in this process. Which are by far the same in animation and live action filmmaking.
They are:
1. Long Shot:
A long shot is often used to introduce the beginning of a scene. It’s called as a long shot because the camera is generally kept away far away from the subject to capture a larger area of view. A long shot establishes the audience perception of the time, place and action of that scene. It’s often used as an establishing shot.
2. Mid Shot:
A mid shot or medium shot is the most common shot used in a film. Most of the action happens in a medium shot. It’s a heavily reliable shot as it is considered to be the closest to what we usually see in real life. Mid shots are usually framed for a single actor till waist height. For group shots with many people in it, two shot- with just two actors (a conversation) and over the shoulders shot. Over the shoulders shot is a powerful way of shooting a scene as it effectively lends itself to be cut to a close up shot without any jerk and hence a smooth transition is achieved.
3. Close Up Shot:
A Close up shot is an important element of films. A close up shot if overused can end up like a talking heads movie. Mostly close up shot helps achieve immediate intimacy. Close up of a characters face, or lips and eyes to show subtle changes in the expression helps build a strong connection with the performance and if cut smoothly to a medium shot to reveal strong body gestures, it can make the action look very effective.