A shot is an uninterrupted section of footage between two cuts. The smallest unit in editing.
Technical Details
Shots are classified by framing: Extreme Long Shot (ELS), Long Shot (LS), Medium Long Shot (MLS), Medium Shot (MS), Medium Close-Up (MCU), Close-Up (CU), Big Close-Up (BCU), and Extreme Close-Up (ECU). Focal lengths vary depending on the sensor: for Super35 (24.89 × 18.66 mm), wide-angle is 14-35mm, normal is 50mm, and slight telephoto is 85-135mm. Camera movement types are divided into static shots, pans (Pan/Tilt), tracking shots (Dolly/Tracking), and zooms. Modern digital cameras record shots in container formats like MXF or MOV, with metadata automatically capturing timecode, clip number, and camera settings.
History & Development
The first consciously composed shot was filmed by Louis Le Prince in 1888 in Leeds with an exposure time of 1/32 second per frame. Georges Méliès developed the first staged shots with a tableau style from 1896 onwards. D.W. Griffith revolutionized shot sizes between 1908-1915 through the systematic use of close-ups and extreme close-ups. Orson Welles established the long take as an art form in 1941 with "Citizen Kane" – shots lasting over four minutes. The Steadicam (1976) and digital cameras (from 1999) significantly expanded the technical possibilities for complex shot movements.
Practical Application in Film
Kubrick's "2001" (1968) uses 679 shots in a 149-minute runtime – an average of 13.2 seconds per shot. Contrast: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015) uses over 2,700 shots in 120 minutes, meaning 2.7 seconds per shot. Birdman (2014) simulates a single shot through invisible cuts between 15 actual long takes. Hitchcock planned "Rope" (1948) as ten uninterrupted shots of ten minutes each – the maximum length of a 35mm film reel.
Comparison & Alternatives
A shot is distinguished from a cut, which is a transition between shots, and from a scene, which is a narrative-dramaturgical unit. A take refers to the recording attempt of a planned shot, while a shot refers to the final result. A master shot captures an entire scene in one shot, while coverage means multiple shots of the same scene from different angles. Insert shots show specific details, while cutaways move away from the main action. A sequence connects multiple shots into a larger narrative unit.