Extreme close-ups usually focus on a small portion of a person’s face (or an object), showing it in extreme detail. In the case of an object, an extreme close-up may be used descriptively – to show the object more clearly – or to highlight its importance. When focusing on faces, extreme close-ups are highly emotional shots. An eyebrow being raised, a lip trembling, a pupil dilating – the camera captures it all. One of the most famous uses of extreme close-ups in film history comes from the final shootout of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, where director Sergio Leone focuses solely on the eye region of the three cowboys’ faces as they ready their guns. It doesn’t get much more intense than that. Remember though, these shots are used very sparingly.

Close-ups vary in how they portray a person, but generally they’ll show a face in its entirety so that it takes up most of the frame. Some close-ups may extend down to the shoulders or even the high chest, but these are generally referred to as medium close-ups. Either way, close-ups are used to convey emotion because they highlight a person’s face – the most expressive part of a human body. When not focused on people, close-ups may also be used as cutaways to show an object in more detail. You'll find that close-ups are used more often on TV (especially soap operas) than in films.

Today’s tip is more for the perfectionist than the average videographer, but if you’re up for a challenge give it a try. When you first plan your video, keep in mind the color palette you foresee your film having and adjust your set and costumes accordingly. The colors in your video play a vital role in how it’s perceived by your audience and what emotions it evokes. Films that appear sandier in color and washed out (like parts of Traffic and Three Kings) have had their color adjusted in post-production to achieve a hotter, rougher look. Such techniques aren’t necessarily beyond the reach of the adventurous amateur producer.

Wide shots (also known as long shots and full shots) are more zoomed in than extreme wide shots, but the emphasis is still on the subject’s relation to the area surrounding it. In a wide shot with a person as the subject, the person’s entire body should be visible, but not much more. When presenting wide shots, remember to leave enough room above (headroom) and below the subject so that they don’t get chopped off when you move the camera.

A zoom is not technically a camera movement, but it is used like one and often gets tagged with that category header. Zooming changes the focal length of the camera lens so that it appears that the camera is moving toward or away from a subject. The resulting change in focal length is equivalent to magnifying a part of the image (unlike dollying which changes your perspective). Zooms are used entirely too much and, worse still, they are used poorly. For better zooms, make sure to use a tripod and have the camera’s exposure set correctly.