Establishing shot

2025-06-23T23:11:45Z

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{{short description|Long shot that sets up the context for a scene in filmmaking and television production}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:LOC Brooklyn Bridge and East River 7.png|thumb|right|An opening shot of the [[Brooklyn Bridge]] establishes the setting and trajectory of the film ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Boggs|first=Joseph M.|year=1996|title=The Art of Watching Films|pages=161, 454}}</ref>]]
An '''establishing shot''' in [[filmmaking]] and [[television production]] is a [[shot (filmmaking)|shot]] that sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects.<ref name="Brown_Page_18">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Blain |title=Cinematography: Theory and Practice, Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors |date=2012 |publisher=Focal Press |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=9781136047381 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyMYMbjheqgC&pg=PA18 |access-date=11 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title=Film analysis. Part 4: Editing | publisher=[[Yale University]] | url=https://filmanalysis.yale.edu/editing/#establishing | access-date=2020-06-25}}</ref> It is generally a long or [[long shot|extreme-long shot]] at the beginning of a scene indicating where, and sometimes when, the remainder of the scene takes place.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Videography Glossary|publisher=[[Calgary board of education]]|url=http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b690/Curriculum/computerop/comp9plus/CTS901-03/CTS9Plus-VideoGlossary.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093002/http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b690/Curriculum/computerop/comp9plus/CTS901-03/CTS9Plus-VideoGlossary.html|archive-date=2017-12-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://static.atomiclearning.com/files/atomic_storytelling_guide.pdf|title=Video Storytelling Guide|publisher=Atomic Learning, Inc.|date=2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Shot types|website=MediaCollege.com|url=https://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/|access-date=2020-06-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Terms Used by Narratology and Film Theory|publisher=[[Purdue University]]|url=https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/theory/narratology/terms/|access-date=2020-06-25}}</ref>

Establishing shots were more common during the [[classical Hollywood cinema|classical era]] of filmmaking than they are now. Today's filmmakers tend to skip the establishing shot in order to move the scene along more quickly, or merely mention the setting in on-screen text (as is done in the [[Law & Order (franchise)|''Law & Order'' franchise]]). In addition, the expositional nature of the shot may be unsuitable to scenes in mysteries, where details are intentionally obscured or left out.

==Use of establishing shots==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2019}}
;Location: Establishing shots may use famous landmarks to indicate the city where the action is taking place or has moved.

;Time of day: Sometimes the viewer is guided in their understanding of the action. For example, an exterior shot of a building at night followed by an interior shot of people talking implies that the conversation is taking place at night inside that building – the conversation may in fact have been filmed on a studio set far from the apparent location, because of budget, permits, time limitations or convenience. In the series ''[[JAG (TV series)|JAG]]'', [[24-hour clock|24-hour]] [[Coordinated Universal Time]] was used for these scenes to reinforce the military setting of the series.

;Relationship: An establishing shot might be a long shot of a room that shows all the characters from a particular scene. For example, a scene about a murder in a college lecture hall might begin with a shot that shows the entire room, including the lecturing professor and the students taking notes. A close-up shot can also be used at the beginning of a scene to establish the setting (such as, for the lecture hall scene, a shot of a pencil writing notes).

;Concept: An establishing shot may also establish a concept, rather than a location. For example, opening with a martial arts drill visually establishes the theme of martial arts. A shot of rain falling could be an establishing shot, followed by more and more detailed look at the rain, culminating with individual raindrops falling.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Cinematic techniques}}
{{Continuity Editing}}

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[[Category:Cinematic techniques]]
[[Category:Film editing]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]

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Establishing shot