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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
A close-up (CU) shot is also known as a narrow angle shot. For a per-
son, this shot captures the top of the head to just below the shoulders,
Figure 4-14. When framing a close-up shot, it is important to include the
top of the shoulders. If the shoulders are not included, the image is a dis-
embodied head at the bottom of the screen, Figure 4-15. Oftentimes on
close-ups, the camera frames out the very top of the subject’s head. This is
called giving the subject a haircut. It is acceptable because there is nothing
visually pertinent to the frame and the visual weight of the eyeline is still
respected. An extreme close-up (ECU/XCU) is a shot of a specifi c body part,
Figure 4-16. This may be used, for example, to show the intense concentra-
tion in an actor’s eyes as he tries to open a lock.
extreme close-up (ECU/
XCU): A shot of an object that
is so magnified that only a
specific part of the object fills
the screen.
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Figure 4-14. The close-up
shot includes a subject’s
head and neck, and must
include the top of the
subjects shoulders.
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 4-15. A close-up
shot that does not include
the subject’s shoulders
leaves a “floating” head in
the frame.
close-up (CU): A shot
that captures a subject
from the top of the
head to just below the
shoulders. Also called a
narrow angle shot.