Two-shot
A shot that frames two people together. It shows how far apart they stand and how they relate to each other in one take, without cutting. In conversation scenes it is usually framed from above the knees to the top of the head.
How it feels
- Relationship
- Conversation
- Companionship
- Equality
- Distance
When to use it
- The start of a conversation between two people
- Introducing a relationship, like friends, lovers or partners
- Showing feelings through the distance between two people (close or far)
- Two people walking together or looking at the same thing
In the movies
Not to be confused with
- Over-the-Shoulder
- If both people face forward, it is a two-shot. If one shows their back and only their shoulder is in frame, it is an over-the-shoulder. Some textbooks treat the over-the-shoulder as a kind of two-shot.
- Shot/Reverse Shot
- An editing pattern that films the two people separately and cuts back and forth. A two-shot puts both in one frame.
- Three-shot
- Three people in one frame is a three-shot; more than that is a group shot.
Prompt
Keyword
two-shot
Descriptive
Medium-wide two-shot. Two characters stand side by side about one meter apart, both clearly visible from the knees up, their relationship and spacing readable in one frame.
Try these combinations
Two-shot + eye level: a conversation on a bench
Medium shot of two people conversing on a park bench, eye level, autumn leaves
Two-shot + tracking: two people walking together
Wide two-shot of two old friends walking side by side along a beach at sunset, tracking