In almost any film, music video, TV advert or YouTube video, there is always an opening shot. A piece of footage that introduces the action and location, but also sets the overall tone of a scene or even the entire motion picture. In filmmaking, this opening shot is called an \u201cestablishing shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other media that feature an establishing shot include video games, animated films, and cartoons. You can also find them in virtual reality experiences and news reports, amongst other types of motion picture content.<\/p>\n
In what follows, we will explore the establishing shot in more detail. After discussing some types of establishing shots, we will talk about how to capture them as well as where to find stock clips for your projects.<\/p>\n
We briefly sketched out the opening shot or establishing shot above. Before going any further in our discussion, let\u2019s define it in more depth.<\/p>\n
What exactly is an establishing shot? In film and television, an establishing shot is often a\u00a0wide-angle\u00a0shot<\/a>\u00a0that shows the location or geography of where the story and action take place. Some movies and TV series like to flip the establishing shot on its head, using a closeup of a person, place or object to capture the audience\u2019s attention before gradually zooming out or cutting to the scene\u2019s larger interior or exterior location. Certain TV shows, especially police procedurals set in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago will often include establishing shots taken from\u00a0b-roll<\/a>\u00a0or stock footage, which we\u2019ll get into later.<\/p>\n Aside from cluing viewers into the urban, rural, marine, subterranean, and even space environments, an establishing shot reveals vital information about characters and the plot. These shots can also indicate lighting changes that subtly or radically alter the atmosphere and mood of a scene. Establishing shots also show the passing of time, often with a\u00a0time-lapse shot<\/a>, whether it\u2019s the changing of seasons, the gradual decay of structures, or some other temporal clue.<\/p>\n Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>is well known for its establishing shots. The franchise\u2019s opening shots instantly inform viewers that the action takes place in space\u2014more specifically, in a galaxy far, far away.<\/p>\n But the\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>filmmakers don\u2019t just use establishing shots at the beginning of a film. Viewers will notice that these shots are used almost any time a location changes. The new location might be a different planet or some new interior or exterior space. For example, the Death Star is often shown in a wide-angle\u00a0establishing shots before viewers see scenes on the megastructure, usually between Darth Vader and his imperial minions or prisoners.<\/p>\n On the indie side of filmmaking, Wes Anderson uses establishing shots in impeccably crafted ways. One of his finest is the \u201clet me tell you about my boat\u201d establishing shot in\u00a0The Life Aquatic<\/em>. In it, Anderson shows Steve Zissou\u2019s bisected ship\u2014\u201cThe Belafonte\u201d\u2014as if it were a set of a theatrical production. Anderson\u2019s camera then moves systematically and whimsically through the Beleftonte\u2019s various rooms and compartments, as Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) narrates the history of the ship, as well as how it is for his underwater adventures.<\/p>\n