Extreme Close-up
Locks your eye on one small detail
Camera Terms for AI Video
See camera and lighting terms in 3D, then copy a ready-made prompt.
Shot Size
Big Close-up
The face fills the whole frame
Close-up
Focus on the face and its emotion
Medium Close-up
Face first, with a little breathing room
Medium Shot
Shows the face and gestures together
Cowboy Shot
Hips and hands in frame, just before the draw
Full Shot
The whole body’s movement in one frame
Wide Shot
The person and their space at a glance
Extreme Wide Shot
One small dot in a vast space
Two-shot
Two people’s relationship in one frame
Three-shot
Three people’s places and ties in one frame
Dirty Single
A single with the other person just in frame
Master Shot
The base shot that covers the whole scene
Insert Shot
Cuts in one small clue, big
Over-the-Shoulder
A conversation seen over a shoulder
POV
See through that person’s eyes
Angle
Eye Level
Natural, on equal terms with the subject
Shoulder Level
Film’s default height, just below eye level
Hip Level
Puts the hands and hips right in front of you
Knee Level
A low view that makes legs and steps big
Ground Level
Hugging the ground, footsteps first
High Angle
Makes the subject look small and weak
Low Angle
Makes the subject look big and strong
Worm's Eye
Soars from underfoot to the sky
Bird's Eye
Everything at a glance, like a map
Aerial Shot
The whole place from high in the sky
Dutch Angle
Uneasy, as if the world were tilting
Three-quarter
Between front and side, the most dimensional
Profile
A crisp side outline
From Behind
Look where they are looking
Movement
Static
The camera holds still, only the world moves
Pan
Sweeps sideways from one spot
Whip Pan
Whoosh, over to someone else
Tilt
Sweeps up and down from one spot
Roll
The whole frame spins around
Pedestal
Rises and falls straight, like an elevator
Dolly In/Out
Moves in and draws you deeper
Zoom In/Out
Pulls in with the lens, staying put
Crash Zoom
A sudden punch in for shock and emphasis
Dolly Zoom
The person stays put, the world warps
Truck
Slides sideways for depth
Tracking
Side by side with a moving character
Follow Shot
Follow behind and discover together
Arc
Half-circles around to embrace the character
Orbit
Circles the character to put them center stage
Crane
Soars into the air and looks down
Drone
Flies up to reveal the world
Handheld
The shake of being right there
Steadicam
Carried, yet gliding smoothly
Snorricam
The person holds still, the world lurches
Bullet Time
Circles around a frozen moment
Lens
Ultra-wide Lens
Near things huge, space endless
Fisheye
A view where the world curves like a ball
Wide Lens
Wide space, distant background
Standard (50mm)
Just as your eyes see it
Portrait (85mm)
Natural face, tidy background
Telephoto
Pulls the background right up behind
Super Telephoto
Presses the far background up like a wall
Macro
A tiny thing fills the frame, the rest melts away
Anamorphic
A wide theater frame and blue streaks of light
Tilt-shift
A real street that looks like a toy model
Shallow Depth of Field
Only the subject is sharp, the background melts
Deep Focus
Everything sharp, from front to back
Aperture (f-stop)
The dial that controls background blur
Bokeh
Turns lights behind into round glowing circles
Rack Focus
Shifts focus to hand off attention
Split Diopter
A near face and a far face sharp at once
Soft Focus
A dreamy image where light glows outward
Lens Flare
A flash of light from facing the sun
Lens Distortion
Straight lines that look bent
Lens Compression
A distant background moves right up behind
Lighting
High-key
Bright and upbeat, with almost no shadows
Low-key
Tension from darkness and shadow
Chiaroscuro
Light rising out of darkness like a painting
Three-point Lighting
Clean, balanced, basic lighting
Key Light
The lead light that sets the direction
Fill Light
Softens shadows and eases contrast
Bounce Light
Softens shadows with bounced light
Negative Fill
Takes light away to deepen shadows
Backlight / Rim Light
A glowing outline that lifts the subject off the background
Hair Light
Light on the head that lifts the subject off the background
Kicker
A glowing edge on the dark-side cheek
Background Light
Lights the wall behind so the person stands out
Hard Light
Light with razor-sharp shadow edges
Soft Light
Light whose shadows fade softly
Flat Lighting
Flat and clear, with no shadows
Side Light
Light from the side that brings out texture and form
Top Light
From overhead, hiding the eyes in shadow
Under Light
Lit from below, strange and eerie
Silhouette
Hide the face, keep only the outline
Rembrandt Lighting
Gives a face depth and weight
Loop Lighting
Natural, easygoing portrait lighting
Split Lighting
The face split half light, half dark
Butterfly Lighting
From above front, glamorous like a magazine shoot
Clamshell Lighting
Wrapped from above and below for a glowing face
Broad Lighting
Lights the side of the face toward camera, wide and bright
Short Lighting
Light on the far side of the face, slim and deep
Golden Hour
Low, warm sunlight and long shadows
Blue Hour
After sunset, calm blue skylight
Overcast
Even and calm, like a cloudy sky
Neon Lighting
A city night bathed in colored light
Color Temperature
Warmth or coolness set by the color of light
Practical Light
The lamp in the frame is the lighting
Catchlight
A point of light in the eye, a living gaze
Volumetric Light
A path of light you can see in the air