Define Camera Angle

In video games, film and photography, nothing is more important than the art of camera angles. Camera angles are used to set a mood and/or tone for a scene so viewers or players can better understand the environment presented to them.

Camera Angles Explained

Camera angles are made up of four key components: framing, angle, movement (if any) and point-of-view. Using these components a photograph or set of images can provide a more dramatic and interesting perspective to an image.

Framing

This is an example of a medium shot.

Framing, or simply distance, is how far away the viewer is from the image that was captured.
The range of the shot determines how significant something in the story is. For example, a shot of something from far away can make it appear less significant and therefore less scary, while a more close-up shot can create urgency and signficance in a scene.
Framing ranges from extremely long, long, medium, close-up and extremely close-up.

Angle

This shot is an example of a bird's eye or top down angle.

Angles set up an image to give emotional information to the audience in order to help them better judge the character or object in an image.
An angle from above gives viewers a god-like view allowing them to feel more comfortable with the characters or objects on screen while an angle from below can give the object or character a dominating feel which signifies they are more serious and scary to the audience.
Angles from highest to lowest include bird's eye, high angle, eye level and low.

Camera Movement

Handi-cams are used to achieve a shaky movement which is popular in horror films.

Camera movement is difficult to achieve because action or drama might be slowed down in order to move the camera, but photographers can achieve interesting effects through movement of the camera.
Movement can create urgency in a scene that would appear typical under normal circumstances.
Camera movements follow many varieties and styles but most commonly known are pans, tilts, dolly, crane and hand-held.

Camera Angles in Video Games

Camera angles in video games are extremely different than those used in film and photography but contain the same elements.
Players will usually have some control over their camera if the game is action intense and requires the player to have full view of his surroundings in order to survive.
Other times games will have a fixed camera, most particularly in the horror/thriller genre, to create a sense of helplessness due to the lack of control.

References

• Media Know All: Camera Angles
• Media College: Camera Angles
• OSU: The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design
• The Examiner: Camera Angles and Video Games