Wide, Medium, Close-Up — Three Shots to Start Making Videos

Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time: Week 1

The same person. The same notebook. Three different views—and three different pieces of information for your audience.

Making a video begins with a decision: what do you want the viewer to see?

You might be recording a family occasion, demonstrating a skill, explaining a science experiment or introducing your business. You point your phone or camera towards the action and press record. That is a useful beginning.

Now try choosing three different views of that action.

A wider view can explain the setting. A medium view can show what someone is doing. A close-up can reveal the detail that makes it understandable.

For the first article in this weekly series, that is our entire task: film the same subject at three shot sizes.

A Small Beginning with Plenty of Possibilities

My work brings together teaching, practical science, photography, sailing and video production. Across those interests, I keep coming back to the same question: can the audience clearly see the thing I want them to understand?

In a science demonstration, a view of the whole apparatus is useful, but a student may also need to see a small change or a reading. In an organ performance, the overall view introduces the performer and instrument; a closer view can show what the hands are doing. In sailing footage, the whole scene shows the boats’ positions, while a detail can draw attention to a particular action.

Those are different subjects, but the underlying decision is similar: choose the view that supplies the information the audience needs.

I want this series to make those decisions approachable. Each week will introduce a manageable skill, a short shooting session and something concrete to review.

The practical approach of The Movie Making Book by Dan Farrell and Donna Bamford helped inspire this series. Here, I am developing original activities for adult beginners, drawing on my own teaching and filming interests.

We will begin with an ordinary notebook. Familiar objects make useful subjects because we can concentrate on filming them.

What You Need

• A phone, tablet or camera that records video.
• A notebook and a table.
• Someone willing to open the notebook—or an object to film if you are working alone.
• Enough light to see the subject clearly.
• About 15–20 minutes, including time to watch your clips.

Optional: a tripod or suitable stable support.

Your device’s ordinary video mode is enough for this exercise.

Three Shots, Three Questions

Shot size	What it shows in our example	The viewer’s question
Wide	The person, table and some of the room	Where are we?
Medium	The person’s upper body, hands and notebook	What is happening?
Close-up	The hands opening the notebook’s pages	Which detail matters?

These are shot sizes: they describe how much of the subject appears in the picture. Camera height, angle and movement are other choices that we will explore in later articles.

1. Wide: Show the Setting

Position the camera far enough away to include the person, the table and some surroundings.

The viewer should be able to understand the situation. Someone is sitting at a table with a notebook in front of them.

Ask yourself: does the extra space tell us something useful?

A wide view of a workshop might reveal tools and a workbench. A wide view of a classroom might show where a demonstration is taking place. Including more surroundings is useful when those surroundings help explain the scene.

A shot that introduces the location or situation is often called an establishing shot. A wide shot can perform that role, although the two terms describe different things: the framing and its purpose.

2. Medium: Show the Action

Move closer so that the person’s upper body, hands and notebook are clearly visible.

For a person, a medium shot often frames roughly from the waist upwards, though the precise boundary varies. In this exercise, the important thing is that the viewer can follow the person opening the notebook.

There is enough of the person to see posture and movement, and enough of the notebook to understand the task.

This is a useful view for many demonstrations. It connects a person with what they are doing.

3. Close-Up: Show the Detail

Move closer again and frame the hands and notebook.

Now the viewer can see fingers lifting the cover, a page turning or a pencil touching the paper.

A close-up can also show a face and its expression. For this exercise, our close-up is of the object and action.

Choose a detail that contributes information. If the purpose is to show how a page opens, include the relevant hand movement. If the purpose is to show a written note, make the words large enough to read.

Watch the Difference

For the accompanying demonstration, I suggest three matching views of someone opening a notebook:

1. A wide view showing the setting.
2. A medium view showing the action.
3. A close-up showing the hands and pages.

Use the same notebook, person, table and lighting throughout. That makes the effect of changing shot size easy to recognise.

Watch the views separately first. Then watch them in sequence.

Notice how the viewer’s attention moves from the situation to the action and finally to the detail.

You can demonstrate exactly the same idea with three photographs. Still images are also useful when planning a video.

Your Shooting Session: Record Three Usable Clips

Your goal is one recognisable wide shot, one medium shot and one close-up.

Before Recording

Choose a well-lit position. Face towards or sit beside a window if that gives you a clear view of the subject.

For this exercise, hold the device horizontally and keep that orientation throughout. We can explore different screen formats later.

Check the picture. Can you see what you intended to include? Is anything important hidden or cut off?

Shot 1: Wide

• Frame the person, table and some of the room.
• Start recording and hold still for a couple of seconds.
• Ask the person to open the notebook at a natural pace.
• Continue recording briefly after the action finishes.

Aim for roughly ten seconds in total.

Shot 2: Medium

• Stop recording and move closer.
• Frame the upper body, hands and notebook.
• Return the notebook to its starting position.
• Record the same action again, with a brief pause before and afterwards.

Shot 3: Close-Up

• Stop recording and move closer again.
• Frame the hands and notebook.
• Check that the image is sharp; move back slightly if your device cannot focus.
• Repeat and record the action.

You have now completed the filming task.

Editing can come later. This week, it is enough to watch the clips in order and recognise the three different views.

Working Alone? Choose an Object

You can complete this activity without a performer.

Try a plant on a table:

• Wide: the plant within the room or garden.
• Medium: the whole plant and its pot.
• Close-up: one leaf or flower.

The distances will differ from the notebook exercise because the subject is a different size. What matters is the relationship between the subject and the frame.

There is no requirement to speak or appear on camera.

Watch Your Results: One Improvement at a Time

Ask three questions:

• Does the wide shot make the setting clear?
• Can I follow the action in the medium shot?
• Does the close-up reveal a useful detail?

Choose one clip that works well and say why.

Then choose one improvement, if needed. Perhaps the medium shot cuts off a hand. Perhaps the close-up is blurred. Perhaps an object in the background distracts your attention.

Reshoot that view and compare the results.

As a teacher, I value activities with a clear finishing point. “Make a video” can feel like a large instruction. “Record three different views of this notebook” gives us something specific to attempt, discuss and improve.

That is the approach I want to carry through this series.

Pro Tips

Leave a little spare time. Recording briefly before and after the action gives you room to choose a good cut when we introduce editing.

Move closer before trying digital zoom. Changing camera position helps you explore framing. Check focus as you move; being extremely close can make the image less useful.

Keep the camera still. Let the hands and notebook provide the movement. A steady view makes this comparison easier to judge.

Look around the edges. A distracting cable, bag or bright object may be easy to remove from the frame with a small change of position.

Try a Little More

Record a fourth view showing the person’s reaction to something in the notebook.

Perhaps they smile, look puzzled or notice an unexpected message.

What does that expression add to the story?

Alternatively, take three matching photographs and label them wide, medium and close-up. You have made your first simple visual plan.

Three Shots Are the Beginning of a Visual Language

A video gives its audience a series of views. Each one is an opportunity to guide attention.

The wide shot offers context. The medium shot makes the action easier to follow. The close-up reveals a detail worth noticing.

Those choices apply to an ordinary notebook, a practical demonstration, a musical performance or a sailing film.

This week, choose one subject and record those three views. Watch what each contributes.

Your first success is three recognisable, usable shots. That is a useful beginning—and something to build on next week.

Next week: What Should the Viewer Notice? We will explore framing and backgrounds.