Chapter 4 Video Camera Operations
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Figure 4-12. The medium
shot, or mid shot, includes
the subject’s head to
just above or below the
waistline.
Figure 4-13. A medium
close-up captures a person
from head to just below the
chest.
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Medium close-up shots are very common, but beginning
filmmakers often frame the bottom of the shot in the middle of
the stomach instead of the bottom of the sternum. The sternum
is the bone that holds the rib cage together in front of the heart
and ends at the top of your stomach before branching out into the
ribcage. This is the exact spot where you want to frame the bottom of your shot.
Take note of wear your sternum ends in a mirror and then frame up a shot on a
friend at the same spot on the bottom, with just a bit of head room on top.
Application Activity
the type of shot usually seen of newscasters on daily news programs and
in dialog scenes before things get intense and the shot move to a close-up.
MCU shots generally do not crop the top of a person’s head.