DPHU1006 Chap.7 Composing the Frame: Shot Types and Angles
Composing the Frame: Shot Types and Angles
Composing the frame is the Week 6 lecture and the Week 8 tutorial, where the Photo Project, worth 10%, is made. Quiz 3, in the Week 9 tutorial, covers Weeks 6 to 8. The Photo Project gives this chapter its checklist.
In 90 minutes, a team of four or five tells a story in eight photographs that can be understood without verbal explanation, including at least one wide shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme wide shot or extreme close-up, low-angle shot, high-angle shot and Dutch tilt, plus examples of the rule of thirds, symmetry, a doorway shot or creative framing, and shallow depth of field.
Its rubric marks creative interpretation and story clarity, and the demonstration of shot types in bands set by how many are missing. The chapter defines each shot size, angle, movement and composition rule, explains its conventional effect, and plans eight frames that cover all eleven requirements.
The same vocabulary returns in the Video Project, whose rubric judges the shot types, camera angles and camera movement in the captured footage on proficiency, creativity and experimentation. It is worth practising the names on real frames rather than memorising definitions: quiz questions and reflections both ask you to identify a choice and say what it does.
A Moodle slide deck of example shot types, camera angles and camera movement supports the Week 6 lecture and is a good place to test yourself.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Shot sizes from extreme wide to extreme close-up
- 02
Reading shot size from where the frame cuts the body
- 03
High, low, eye-level and Dutch tilt angles
- 04
Pan, tilt and tracking movement
- 05
Rule of thirds, symmetry and frames within the frame
- 06
Planning the Photo Project and reading its rubric bands
Worked example · free
Naming the choices in a single frame
- +1The doorway around the student is a doorway shot, a frame within the frame.
- +1Seen from below, the camera looks up: a low-angle shot.
- +1The blurred background shows shallow depth of field; name the shot size too, for example a medium shot if the frame cuts at the waist.
Key terms
- Rule of thirds
- A composition guide that places the subject on lines dividing the frame into thirds.
- High-angle shot
- A shot looking down on the subject, which often makes it seem smaller or weaker.
- Low-angle shot
- A shot looking up at the subject, which often makes it seem larger or stronger.
- Extreme close-up
- A frame so tight it isolates a single detail, such as the eyes or a fingertip.
- Creative framing
- Using doors, windows or mirrors inside the image to frame the subject a second time.
- Symmetry
- A composition that centres the subject so both halves of the frame mirror each other.
Composing the Frame: Shot Types and Angles FAQ
How is the Photo Project marked?
Out of 10, on two criteria worth five marks each: creative interpretation and story clarity, and the demonstration of shot types. The second criterion falls by band as more required types are missing.
What happens if the photo project is submitted late?
Each group has 90 minutes in the Week 8 tutorial to plan, shoot and submit, and a submission that runs over loses one mark for every ten minutes it is late.
What is a Dutch tilt used for?
Rolling the camera so the horizon slopes suggests unease, disorientation or a world off balance, and it is one of the angles the Photo Project requires.
Can AI tools be used on the photographs?
No. The course states that the photographic images taken during this assessment cannot be manipulated by AI, and the task sits in the category where AI tools cannot be used.
What is the difference between a pan and a tracking shot?
In a pan the camera stays in one place and pivots sideways, so the view sweeps across the scene. In a tracking shot the whole camera travels alongside or behind the subject, so the viewpoint itself moves through space.
How many shot types are required in the photo project?
The task lists seven shot types and four composition techniques, eleven requirements in all, to be shown across eight photographs. Several frames therefore need to demonstrate more than one requirement at once.
What is the rule of thirds?
Imagine the frame divided by two horizontal and two vertical lines into nine equal parts. Placing the subject on a line or an intersection, rather than dead centre, usually gives a balanced image with room for the subject to look or move.
Assessment move
Carry a phone for a week and take one photograph a day for each shot size and angle on the Photo Project list. Caption each with the requirement it shows. By Week 8 your team will name and frame each shot quickly, which leaves more of the 90 minutes for the story. In the Week 8 tutorial, divide jobs before shooting: one person tracks the requirements list, one directs, one photographs and one prepares the file.
Keep at least ten minutes for ordering the images and submitting, because the clock keeps running while the upload completes.
