Shots & framing
Medium shot: definition and examples
What is Medium shot?
A medium shot frames a person from roughly the waist up, splitting the difference between a close-up and a wide shot. It shows enough of the body to read posture and gesture while keeping the face large enough to read expression, making it a common default for on-camera dialogue.
When you'd use it
- 1When a talking-head feels too tight for the topic but a wide shot loses facial expression.
- 2When the speaker's hand gestures or posture are part of the communication.
- 3When setting a neutral, conversational visual register for the majority of a video.
- 4When cutting between a close-up and a wide shot and needing an intermediate option.
Example
A founder filming a product demo uses a medium shot for the bulk of the explanation, then punches in to a close-up when holding up the product so viewers can see the specific feature being described. The shift reinforces that the close-up moment is the important one.
Use cases
- 1Framing a creator from the waist up so gestures read alongside facial expression in a tutorial.
- 2Shooting a product explainer at mid-distance so both the speaker and the product are visible.
- 3Using waist-up framing as the default coverage for a multi-take interview segment.
Make on-brand short-form video from the footage you already have.