body within the frame, we’ll describe them in terms
of that scale. The illustrations are from Tom
Hooper’s The King’s Speech(2010; cinematographer:
Danny Cohen). Historically, the story is familiar:
King George V dies in 1936, and his son David
accedes to the throne as Edward VIII; but his
romantic relationship with and desire to marry
Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, leads
to his abdication and the accession of his brother
Albert (“Bertie”), the Duke of York, to the throne as
George VI. The psychological and emotional effects
of his royal upbringing add depth to the story. As a
boy, Bertie developed a serious stammer due to the
apparent bullying of his father and was therefore
unprepared to handle the speaking engagements
required of the king, both in person and over the
radio. With the encouragement of his wife, he
meets a relatively unknown speech therapist,
Lionel Logue, who uses a series of experimental
vocal, physical, emotional, and psychological tech-
niques that eventually make it possible for the
future king to speak fluently and confidently in
public.
- In the extreme long shot(XLSor ELS), typ-
ically photographed at a great distance, the
subject is often a wide view of a location,
which usually includes general background
information. When used to provide such an
informative context, the XLS is also an
establishing shot. Even when human beings
are included in such a shot, the emphasis is
not on them as individuals but on their rela-
tionship to the surroundings. Image [1] shows
Sandringham House, an immense country
house used by the British royal family.
Although there are several people on the ter-
race, the function of the shot is to identify the
house and its grandeur.- The long shot(LS) generally contains the full
body of one or more characters (almost filling
the frame, but with some of the surrounding
area above, below, and to the sides of the
frame also visible). In image [2], the arch-
bishop and other officials of Westminster
Abbey, standing amid the abbey’s splendid
surroundings, discuss the preparation for the
inauguration of King George VI. - A medium long shot(MLS) is neither a
medium shot nor a long shot, but one in
between. It is used to photograph one or
more characters, usually from the knees up,
as well as some of the background. This
indispensable shot permits the director to
place two characters in conversation and to
shoot them from a variety of angles, as in
image [3], where we see a meeting between
the future king (Colin Firth, left) and his
speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey
Rush, right), in Logue’s studio. Because of the
wide use of the MLS in Hollywood movies,
the French call this shot the plan Américain
(American shot). - The medium shot(MS), somewhere between
the long shot and the close-up, usually shows
a character from the waist up. The MS is the
most frequently used type of shot because it
replicates our human experience of proximity
without intimacy; it provides more detail of
the body than the LS does. Unlike the close-
up, the MS can include several characters,
but it reveals more nuance in the characters’
faces than can be captured in the MLS.
Image [4] is a typical medium shot of Mrs.
Wallis Simpson (Eve Best) greeting the duke
DVDIn this tutorial, Dave Monahan explores
the concept of implied proximity and its relation-
ship to various shot types.FRAMING OF THE SHOT 251