Looking-down
When you place the camera above and looking down on a person or scene, the viewer has the emotional effect of “looking down” on the scene. When used with a character, it subtly makes the audience feel superior to the character, or it suggests someone who is beaten down, submissive, or powerless. This angle is often used to suggest that the actor or person being filmed is a victim or a contemptible character. Someone you “look down on.”
Looking down
Looking-up
If the camera is below a person and looking up, the image suggests an overpowering being. Someone you “look up to.” This angle is commonly used to make political leaders appear authoritarian and decisive. Watch for this one in political advertisements.
Looking up
Straight-on
If the camera is looking straight on at the person, the person appears “equal” to the viewer. This angle is commonly used in infomercials to make the narrator appear to be a person who is honest and “straight-forward.”
