A Filmmaker's Guide to: High Angle Shots

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

High Angle Shots

What are they?

High Angle Shots are exactly what you think they are. Placing your camera in the top half of your full frame and then tilting it downwards creates the illusion of size. This is how you create a high angle shot. It really is that simple.

How is it used?

High Angle Shots are used for the following reasons normally:

• To indicate size
• To indicate height
• To indicate the distance between land and whatever is at the top of the frame.

Let's take a look at how we can see it used in different movies and why it is used that way

Case Study 1: "The Shawshank Redemption"

The high angle shot makes whatever is in the lower half of the frame part of the focal point we are supposed to be looking at. The perspective of the weather is possibly the best way to describe this and the lighting of being shadowed towards the (our) right would also be one of the points of focus we need to concentrate on. The way in which the lighting is used makes it very convincingly look like moonlight, even though in reality it may not be. So, as a result, we have a character who is made to look smaller, but the shot itself is far more dramatic. I think you can picture the shot because you've seen "The Shawshank Redemption" - it is very dramatic. In this shot, it is all about the drama and the moment of this particular shot. The perspective is meant to show us that.

Case Study 2: "The Fellowship of the Ring"

The way in which this shot is filmed makes us obviously see the entire thing of what is happening. However, if you were to watch the scene, it slows down and we have a focus on the ring falling on to Frodo's finger. The way in which we are supposed to see it though makes not Frodo the main focal point, but the ring. The falling of the ring straight on to his finger and then he kind of disappears, is supposed to be a big part of Frodo discovering the power of the ring. This is one of the man instances in which we see a high angle shot on to the ring throughout the three movies.

Conclusion

As you can see there are different ways in which the high angle shot is used. If you want to see this in more action then I would suggest watching some war films in which we see things from the perspective of planes or helicopters etc. the high angle shot looks down upon the people who are normally looking up. The shot moves, focusing us upon the different people looking at this aircraft. This is also true for some fantasy films which include spaceships such as Star Wars and those sorts of films. It is a very good technique for producing this strange sense of perspective between the thing or character in focus and wherever the camera is.