The mid shot: When? Why? How? Just three questions that you will probably want to know the answers to when it comes to mid shots, and here you can find the answers. Like many shots, mid shots are not used for a primary reason, they are quite simply, closer to the object than a wide shot, but not quite as close as a close up.
However, people tend to either over use, or under use mid shots. A mid shot will usually be from the waist or knees upwards and will used primarily in dialogue scenes, but they can be used quite a lot in action scenes or sequences to focus on a certain element of them. Still confused? Read a little bit on below for some examples to see how you could use them:
The above shot is a very effective mid shot and fit perfectly into a film if it was shown after a wide shot of the whole band playing. This mid shot is used to define a certain character in a group of performers.
You shot is also effective because it uses the rule of thirds to ensure that the audience are drawn to the three main elements of the shot: His face, his hand on the guitar and the neck of the guitar.
The above shot may not show a person (well you can see one in the car), but the main element in this shot is the car. This, at first may not seem like a mid shot, but because of the size of the object in shot, it is. If the shot focused on an element of the car, for example the tyres or the windscreen then it would be a close up and if it concentrated on more of the road then it would be a wide shot.
This is effective because it looks very much like the car is coming towards the screen. The use of diagonal lines in the shot is great also as it adds depth and dimensions to the shot.
This shot is clearly used for conversations also. In the above shot, it is used as a reaction shot to focus on the emotions and the ‘reactions’ of the character while listening to the other person talk.
This shot is great for focusing on overall emotions as opposed to specific emotions on the face, such as a close up on a smile.
Now that you have read it, we hope that you can easily understand the use of mid shots and how you, as a film makers, could apply them to your movie making. Hopefully this has helped you out fully.
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