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Close-up

A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object.[1] Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long shots (cinematic techniques). Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene. Moving toward or away from a close-up is a common type of zooming. A close up is taken from head to neck, giving the viewer a detailed view of the subject's face.

For other uses, see Close up (disambiguation).

Practical application[edit]

Close-ups are used in many ways and for many reasons. They are often employed as cutaways from a more distant shot to show detail, such as characters' emotions or some intricate activity with their hands. Close cuts to characters' faces are used far more often in television than in movies and are especially common in soap operas. For a director, deliberately avoiding close-ups may create in the audience an emotional distance from the subject matter.


Close-ups are used for distinguishing main characters. Major characters are often given a close-up when they are introduced as a way of indicating their importance. Leading characters will have multiple close-ups. At the close of Sunset Boulevard (1950), the main character, a faded star under the delusion that she is making a triumphant return to acting, declaims melodramatically, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."


Close-up shots do not show the subject in the broad context of its surroundings. Low-budget films may use close-ups to avoid the expense of set construction. If overused, close-ups may leave viewers uncertain as to what they are seeing. Close-ups are rarely done with wide-angle lenses because perspective causes objects closer to the lens to be unnaturally enlarged. That may convey a sense of confusion, intoxication, or another unusual mental state.

Medium Close Up ("MCU" on camera scripts): Halfway between a and a close-up. Usually covers the subject's head and shoulders.

mid shot

Close Up ("CU"): A certain feature, such as someone's head, takes up the whole frame.

Extreme Close Up ("ECU" or "XCU"): The shot is so tight that only a detail of the subject, such as someone's eyes, can be seen.

[3]

Lean-In: when the juxtaposition of shots in a sequence, usually in a scene of dialogue, starts with medium or long shots, for example, and ends with close-ups.

Lean-Out: the opposite of a lean-in, moving from close-ups out to longer shots.

Lean: when a lean-in is followed by a lean-out.

There are various degrees of close-up depending on how tight (zoomed in) the shot is. The terminology varies between countries and even different companies, but in general, these are:


When the close-up is used in the shooting, the subject should not be put in exactly the middle of the frame. Instead, it should be located in the frame according to the law of the golden section.

Macro photography

Micrograph

Shot (filmmaking)

Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2006). Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill.  0-07-331027-1.

ISBN