{{Short description|Camera angle}} [[File:Big buck bunny high angle shot.ogv|thumb|A high-angle shot from Big Buck Bunny]] thumb|Example of high-angle shot in photography
A '''high-angle shot''' is a cinematic technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a high angle and the point of focus often gets "swallowed up".<ref name="Mamer2013">{{cite book|author=Mamer|title=Film Production Technique: Creating the Accomplished Image|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LsEZBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|date=30 May 2013|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-285-71256-7|pages=8–|first=Bruce|year=2013|edition=6th|publication-date=30 May 2013|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260124175401/https://books.google.ca/books?id=LsEZBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8&redir_esc=y|archive-date=2026-01-24}}</ref>
High-angle shots can make the subject seem vulnerable or powerless when applied with the correct mood, setting, and effects.<ref name="SijllJennifer2005">{{Cite book |last=Van Sijil |first=Jennifer |title=Cinematic Storytelling |date=2005-08-01 |publisher=Michael Wiese Productions |year=2005 |isbn=978-1932907056 |publication-date=2005-08-01 |language=en}}</ref> In film, they can make the scene more dramatic. If there is a person at high elevation who is talking to someone below them, this shot is often used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mieux |first=C. O. |date= December 1949|title=Angles for Backgrounds |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HF4zAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA131 |journal=Angles for Backgrounds |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=131 |via=Popular Photography - ND}}</ref>
The height required for this shot is low enough to be achieved without flight, thus distinguishing it from a bird's-eye view.
== The "MySpace angle" == thumb|A picture in the style of a MySpace profile|alt=Very contrasted photograph of the head of a young white woman looking up at the viewer. She smiles. She wears goth makeup. She has a fringe.
The MySpace angle is so called because it is associated with profile pictures on social networking websites such as MySpace. It is a selfie taken with a phone camera held at arm's length above the head of the photographer/subject. The face of the subject fills the image, while the body is foreshortened. Several gestures and grimaces may be associated. Practitioners consider this angle to flatter the subject by accentuating the face and cleavage, while dissimulating an unattractive body. However, its frequent use was protested by some viewers who found it deceptive.<ref name="Sessions">{{cite journal |last1=Sessions |first1=Lauren F. |title="You Looked Better on MySpace": Deception and authenticity on the Web 2.0 |journal=First Monday |date=4 July 2009 |doi=10.5210/fm.v14i7.2539 |url=https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2539/2242 |access-date=20 February 2023 |doi-access=free |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250209181822/https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2539/2242|archive-date=2025-02-09}}</ref>
== See also ==
* Camera angle * Low-angle shot
== References == {{Reflist}} {{Cinematic techniques}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:High-Angle Shot}} Category:Cinematic techniques Category:Film and video terminology Category:Television terminology Category:Articles containing video clips
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