A theory task on the different shots and cinematography techniques used in video games.
Camera Shots
Long shots – Big and wide shots that either show off the enviroment or can show the full frame of a character to accentuate them in the enviroment they are placed in.
Ignoring the text, the menu title screen for Horizon Zero Dawn shows an enviromental long shot for the scenery that introduces the player to the game.
Medium shots – Very commonly waist-up shots of characters within dialogue or first person perspective shots.
Example of a waist-up shot during dialogue in Dune Awakening, the text covering the lower half of the character to make it more of a torso shot that puts emphasis on the distance between player and npc.
Short shots – close up shots of a charcters face, or even more extremely, eyes with accentuated detail on the character’s details.
Example of a close-up shot taken from the Warframe cinematic intro. Notice the detail on the face of the person, detail is added during these shots to add a sense of realism, whereas long shots would have less small details.
Cinematography
Rule of Thirds – a symbol of balance and focus, a mental grid made up of 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines which are guidelines for cinematic shots to be more appealing to the eyes.
Depth of Field – Blurring the background to bring the object or character into an emphasised focus.
Trailer analysis – Cyperpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
This trailer includes wide enviromental shots, both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. The pacing of the trailer quickens the more action that it includes. For example, there is a fight scene in the trailer and as the action rises the lights become flashing, quickly turning on and off, the pacing of the characters speed up and the music quickens.
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