Shot types and framing

Why this matters

'Shot type' is the single knob that separates film-literate prompts from random generations. Wide vs medium vs close-up isn't decoration — it's about where the viewer's attention lands. A wide shot says 'see the world'; a close-up says 'see her face'. Learning the five standard shot types and when each one is wrong is a two-hour investment that pays out forever.

Demo

Shot type controls what the viewer pays attention to: a wide shot says 'here is the world,' a close-up says 'here is a face' — and the model follows that contract faithfully. Swapping one shot-type line while keeping every other variable constant isolates the effect, which makes the creative decision legible. The five variants below use an identical subject and setting so nothing else can explain the difference.

Subject: a chef plating a dish in a hurry
Setting: a busy restaurant kitchen, warm tungsten light
 
Shot variants to try (change ONLY this line):
- Wide shot: camera far back, whole kitchen visible
- Medium shot: camera at chef's hip, plate and hands visible
- Close-up: camera on the plate, chef's hands enter frame
- Extreme close-up: camera on a drop of sauce landing
- Over-the-shoulder: we see the plate from behind the chef

Try it yourself

1. Run all five shot variants of the same subject. Line them up side by side.
2. Ask yourself: which shot tells the viewer 'this kitchen is chaos'? Which says 'this chef is an artist'?
3. Pick the wrong shot type for your intent on purpose (e.g. use a wide shot for an emotional moment). See why it fails.
4. Write a three-shot sequence: wide → medium → close. The wide establishes, the medium follows, the close reveals. Test it end to end.

References

• Runway — prompt guide
• Kling — text-to-video prompting tips