Published: November 25, 2024 | Last Updated: November 26, 2024
wide shot Definition & Meaning
A wide shot (WS), also known as a long shot, shows your entire subject and their surroundings. Think of it as taking a step back to see the complete picture – not just the actors but the world they inhabit. Wide shots are often used as establishing shots and combined with high-angle or low-angle shots or camera moves such as crane shots. Wide shots can be created using any lens, but wide-angle lenses are most common.
Wide Shots (WS) should not be confused with Full Shots (FS), although they sometimes share similar traits.
Reasons to use a wide shot
There are many situations and motivations for using wide shots. However, some common ones are:
The establishing shot
Wide shots work great for establishing a new scene because we can see both our subject and the surroundings. As such, they help set the tone and atmosphere for sequences to follow.
Image Source: Film-Grab
In the frame above from No Country for Old Men (2007), a high-angle, wide shot is used as an establishing shot for the scene at the isolated Texaco petrol station, where ruthless hitman Anton Chigurh lets a coin decide whether the blameless petrol station manager will live or die.
To give us a good overview of scene action
Wide shots are great for giving the audience an overview of the action in a scene and letting the gaze wander. They let us do the work by not telling us exactly where to look (like in a close-up) but give our eyes room to wander, anticipate, and make connections.
Image Source: Film-Grab
In the frame above from Gladiator (2000), Maximus has just dealt the final blow that kills the last Praetorian of the execution squad ordered to kill him but is also wounded himself.
The wide shot gives us an overview of the action (and the unfair advantage of the Praetorian on horseback) as we expect the two to clash again in the cold Germanic woods near Vindobona. It also provides a slight pause as we catch our breath, similar to the two warriors.
To create emotional distance or emphasize isolation
Wide shots are often used when a director wants to show emotional distance or emphasize isolation between a character and the environment or between two or more characters.
Image Source: Film-Grab
In the two shot above from Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), Quentin Tarantino uses a wide shot to show the emotional distance between the two characters, The Bride (Uma Thurman) and Bill (David Carradine). However, despite The Bride’s anger with Bill, their fates are still intertwined, as the curved leading lines emphasize.
Image Source: Film-Grab
The frame above from the ending of Fight Club (1999) is a great example of how to use a wide shot to create emotional distance between characters and their environment. The scene is also a great example of contrast through juxtaposition; on the one hand, we have a loving couple holding hands. On the other hand, the wide shot shows us the havoc The Narrator (Edward Norton) has caused in his war against consumerism—a terrorist plot that kills thousands.
Show spatial relationship and context
Wide shots are also good when you want to reveal spatial relationships between characters and their environment. For example, it gives viewers a sense of scale.
Image Source: Film-Grab
In the example above from Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Officer K (Ryan Gosling) walks through the nuclear-polluted remnants of Las Vegas in his search for Deckard (Harrison Ford).
The size of two sexy statues, in contrast to Officer K, provides context to the effervescent Sin City that once was. The orange-polluted air references an earlier showdown between replicants and humans and a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict.
The Psychology Behind Wide Shots
Wide shots play with our deep-wired instincts about space and size. Our brains are always sizing up our surroundings and our place in them. When we see a wide shot, something interesting happens: we automatically start comparing the size of things in the frame: a person against a mountain range, a car on an empty highway stretching to the horizon, a lone figure in a sprawling cityscape.
This size contrast hits us on a gut level. It can make us feel:
- Lost in space (when a character looks tiny against a huge backdrop)
- Free (when the frame shows open spaces with no limits)
- Trapped (when the vastness feels threatening)
- Part of a crowd (in big scenes with lots of people – like those shots in Gladiator showing the massive Roman crowds)
- Overwhelmed (think of those shots in Lord of the Rings where tiny hobbits face massive landscapes)
- Isolated (like Jack Nicholson frozen in that maze at the end of The Shining)
Wide shots also give our brains room to breathe. While close-ups force us to focus on one thing, wide shots let our eyes wander. We get to piece things together, making us more active viewers.
Summing Up
A wide shot shows us a whole scene – imagine characters in their full environment, usually shot from far enough back to see everything around them. It’s like stepping back to take in the whole picture. They work really well for:
- Setting up where we are at the start of a scene
- Showing the whole picture before zooming in on details
- Making the audience feel small or big emotions based on what’s happening
- Giving viewers time to look around and take everything in
- Creating contrast (like going from a tight close-up to a super wide shot)
Notice how a wide shot isn’t just about showing a big space – it’s about how that space makes us feel. The same wide shot of a desert can feel like freedom or like a prison, depending on what’s happening in the story.
What makes wide shots so cool is that they let the audience do some work. Instead of telling us exactly where to look (like in a close-up), they give our eyes room to wander and make connections. This makes us more active viewers – we’re not just watching but exploring.
Up Next: What is an Extreme Wide Shot?
