Master shot

A master shot is a film recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as an establishing shot. Usually, the master shot is the first shot checked off during the shooting of a scene—it is the foundation of what is called camera coverage, other shots that reveal different aspects of the action, groupings of two or three of the actors at crucial moments, close-ups of individuals, insert shots of various props, and so on.

Historically, the master shot was arguably the most important shot of any given scene. All shots in a given scene were somehow related to what was happening in the master shot. This is one reason some of the films from the 1930s and 1940s are considered "stagey" by today's standards. By the 1960s and 1970s, the style of film shooting and editing shifted to include radical angles that conveyed more subjectivity and intimacy within the scenes.^[1] Today, the master shot is still an extremely important element of film production, but scenes are not built around the master shot in the same way that they were when professional filmmaking was in its infancy.

References

Footnotes

↑ Ascher (1999), p. 227

Bibliography

Ascher, Steven, and Edward Pincus. The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age. New York: Plume, 1999.

Field size

Camera placement

Perspective Over-the-shoulder Point-of-view (POV) Reverse Trunk Single / multiple-camera setup

Camera angle	Tilt Aerial High-angle Bird's-eye Crane shot Jib / boom shot Low-angle Worm's-eye view Dutch angle

Camera movement

Lens effects

Focus
- Racking
- Depth of field
- Shallow
- Deep
Zooming

Other techniques

Special effects

Practical	Physical effects Prosthetic makeup Animatronics Puppetry Suitmation Miniature effect (hanging) Pyrotechnics Aerial rigging (Wire-flying) Squib Matte painting Sugar glass Theatrical blood

In-camera	Tilted plane focus Forced perspective Schüfftan process Dolly zoom Lens flares Lighting effects Filtration Shutter effects Time-lapse Slow motion Fast motion Speed ramping Bipacks Slit-scan Reverse motion Front projection Rear projection Multiple exposure Infrared photography Bullet time

Visual	Computer-generated imagery Split screen Stop motion Go motion Chroma key Compositing (digital) Optical printing Introvision Smallgantics Match moving

Film editing

Concept

choreography, synchronization, interaction, attentional control, master shot, parallel cut

Technique

blindfolding, clues, cutaway, eyeline match, points of view, multiple exposure, optical illusion, shuffling, split screen, transition

Insertion	dialogue, match cut, Long shot, Insert

Timelapsing	jump cut (axial cut), slow motion

Other	fast cutting, montage

Storytelling

cut on action, contrast cut, shot reverse shot, flashback / flashforward

Action

smash cut, cross cut, slow cutting, montage, walk and talk

Rule

Term

Editing

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