Full Shot
A shot where a person’s whole body, from head to toe, fits in the frame. A standing person is about as tall as the frame, so even when they move there is little need to reframe. Some sources call it a long shot. In this dictionary, when the body nearly fills the frame’s height it is a full shot, and when it shrinks to half the frame’s height or less it is a wide shot.
How it feels
- Movement
- Energy
- Stability
- Posture
- Entrance
When to use it
- Scenes where full-body movement matters, like a dance in a musical
- Showing action without cutting it up, as in martial arts or fight scenes
- A dancer performing on stage
- A character walking down a street or through a garden
In the movies
Not to be confused with
- Wide Shot
- The whole body is visible here too, but the person is smaller and much more of the surrounding space comes in.
- Long Shot
- Used as another name for the same size, but it can also mean a broad landscape shot. In prompts, the clearer "full shot" is recommended.
- Medium Wide Shot
- It cuts just above the knees. Once the feet are in, it is a full shot.
Prompt
full shot
Full shot of the subject, head to toe, the body filling most of the frame height with a little floor visible below the feet.
Try these combinations
Full shot + backlight: a dancer on stage
Full shot of a dancer performing on an empty stage, eye level, single backlight, light haze
Full shot + orbit: martial arts practice
Full shot, slow orbit around a martial artist practicing in a courtyard, early morning light