Editing Shot Sizes (section)

== Establishing Shot and Master Shot ==

[[File:LMS-establishing-shot.jpg|thumb|right|360px|ESTABLISHING SHOT in ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006) shows the entire family.]]An '''establishing shot''' and a '''master shot''' are not the same per se. But they were combined under the same subheading because the framing and composition are usually the same for both of them.

An establishing shot introduces a new location – a church, a city street, a rooftop, a hospital room – from a vantage point that allows the audience to see all the relevant characters in the filmic space. A master shot would probably be recorded from the same position, with the same lens, also showing all the characters. The difference is the duration. A master shot records the entire action, a complete run-through from that same camera position. This way if a tighter shot is forgotten or messed up during [http://www.elementsofcinema.com/directing/scene-coverage/ coverage], the director knows her editor will have enough material to show the scene in its entirety by cutting back to the master shot. In most movies, an establishing shot will last a few seconds before the editor cuts to '''medium shots''' and '''close-ups'''. However, if for someone reason the director decides that the cuts are not good enough, he may use the master shot of a scene to show the action unfold, in which case there would few to no cuts in that scene, which can a be a pleasant style.

To a sense, master shots are usually part of cinematography terminology because they should be standard practice for every new scene. Establishing shots, in the other hand, refer more to the editing phase of the movie, when the editor selects one quick angle to reveal the location.

Also, note that an establishing shot doesn’t necessarily mean that we see the character’s full body. Basically, the establishing shot displays the elements needed for the scene to function.