Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time: Week 3 High, Low or Eye Level? — How Camera Height Changes the Story

 

High, Low or Eye Level? — How Camera Height Changes the Story

Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time: Week 3

Film the same person doing the same thing from three camera heights. How different can one ordinary moment feel?

A person sits at a table and opens a notebook.

At eye level, we might feel that we are sitting opposite them. From above, we see more of the page and the arrangement of the table. From below, the person may appear more imposing, while the notebook becomes harder to see.

Nothing about the action has changed. We have changed the position from which the audience watches it.

That is this week’s filmmaking skill: choosing a camera height deliberately.

In Week 1, we used wide, medium and close-up shots to show where we were, what was happening and which detail mattered. In Week 2, we considered framing and background: what should the viewer notice?

Now we ask: where should the viewer be looking from?

You do not need a new camera, an elaborate set or complicated editing. You need one simple action and three different viewpoints.

What You Need

• A phone or camera that records video.
• One willing adult subject, or an object you can film yourself.
• A notebook and table, or another simple activity.
• A stable support, tripod or steady pair of hands.
• About 20 minutes to record and compare three short clips.

Choose a quiet, uncluttered setting with reasonably consistent light. A seated subject makes the exercise easier because all three heights are within comfortable reach.

This week’s success is three recognisable, usable clips filmed from clearly different heights.

Camera Height and Camera Angle: Related, but Different

Camera height means how high the camera is relative to the subject. Camera angle means whether it points upwards, downwards or straight ahead.

A camera can be low but point horizontally. A high camera can also point horizontally. Height alone does not tell us which way it is looking.

For this exercise, we will combine height and angle in three familiar ways:

Viewpoint	Camera position	Where it points
Eye level	Approximately level with the seated person’s eyes	Roughly straight towards them
High	Above their eye level	Down towards their face, hands and notebook
Low	Below their eye level	Up towards their upper body and face

“Eye level” is the subject’s eye level. If someone is seated, the camera may need to be considerably lower than the standing camera operator’s eyes.

That small adjustment can make a large difference.

Eye Level: Meet the Person Where They Are

An eye-level shot often feels direct and familiar. We can see the person’s expression without obviously looking up or down at them.

For our notebook example, position the camera opposite the seated person, with the lens approximately level with their eyes. Frame their upper body, hands and notebook as comfortably as possible.

This is a useful starting point for an interview, a spoken introduction or someone explaining an idea. It can help create the feeling of a conversation.

If you are filming yourself, look at the lens when addressing the audience, rather than continually watching your own image on the screen.

Try This

Record the person sitting quietly, opening the notebook and looking at the page. Let the clip run for about eight to ten seconds.

Watch it back. Does the viewer feel like a participant in the moment? Can they see both the person’s expression and enough of the action?

Eye level is a starting point, not a guarantee of a successful shot. A distracting background or awkward framing can still get in the way.

High: Reveal More of the Activity

Now raise the camera above the subject’s eyes and point it down towards the same action.

You may see more of the tabletop, the open pages and the position of the person’s hands. The shot can become more about the activity and less about meeting the person face to face.

This is particularly useful when the viewer needs to understand a layout: ingredients on a work surface, components on a desk, or notes being organised.

In my teaching and filming work, visibility matters. If the important information is on the table, the camera needs a position from which the audience can actually see it. A high view can help explain a task that an eye-level view partly conceals.

Try This

Repeat the notebook action. Keep the camera above eye level and tilt it down enough to show both the person and the page.

Ask yourself:

• Is the notebook easier to see?
• Is the person’s expression still important in this version?
• Does the shot feel more observational?

A high-angle shot can sometimes make someone appear smaller or more vulnerable. It can also simply give the audience a clearer view of what they are doing. Its meaning depends on the scene.

A gently elevated shot is not the same as a directly overhead shot. Looking straight down at the notebook is a useful extension, but it is a different viewpoint from our main comparison.

Low: Give the Subject More Presence

For the third clip, lower the camera below the person’s eyes and point it upwards.

You might place it near table height, provided the table does not block the action. Keep the angle moderate at first.

The subject may seem taller, more imposing or more prominent. You may also reveal a different background: a ceiling, a light fitting or a previously hidden shelf.

Outside, a low viewpoint can place a subject against the sky. Around a sailing boat, it can emphasise the height of a mast or the scale of the rig. In a studio, it might give a performer a stronger visual presence.

Try This

Record the same person opening the same notebook again.

Compare what you can now see with what you have lost. The person may dominate the frame, but the writing surface may almost disappear.

That trade-off matters. A visually striking angle is useful when it supports the purpose of the film.

Low angles are sometimes associated with power or threat, but they can also suggest admiration, scale, humour or a child’s viewpoint. A low shot of a friendly musician need not feel threatening at all.

Get Filming: One Action, Three Heights

1. Choose a Repeatable Action

Use the notebook example from Week 1:

1. Rest both hands beside the closed notebook.
2. Open it.
3. Look down at the page.
4. Pause.

Keep it simple enough to repeat without much rehearsal.

2. Keep the Main Ingredients Consistent

Use the same person, table, notebook and lighting. Keep each clip a similar length.

Leave the zoom setting unchanged where possible. Maintain roughly the same distance from the subject, accepting that the framing will shift as the camera moves.

This is a practical comparison, so the three images do not have to match perfectly. You are trying to make the effect of viewpoint easy to notice.

3. Record Eye Level, High and Low

Film one clip from each position. Keep the camera still during each take.

Hold for a couple of seconds before the action begins and after it finishes. Those quiet moments give you useful room for editing.

Check each recording before moving on. Make sure the face or important detail is in focus and the action is visible.

4. Compare Before You Edit

Play the clips one after another, initially with the sound muted.

Ask:

• What do I notice first?
• How close do I feel to the person?
• Which view explains the action most clearly?
• Which gives the person the strongest presence?
• What has appeared in the background?

There is no single correct favourite. Different answers reveal different uses.

5. Make a Short Comparison Film

If you already have a familiar editing app, place the three complete clips in sequence. Add simple labels: “Eye level”, “High angle” and “Low angle”.

Aim for about 25–35 seconds. Music, transitions and effects are optional; the comparison itself is the point.

If editing feels like an extra hurdle, simply play the three recordings in order. You have still completed the exercise.

The Background Moves Even When the Subject Does Not

This week builds directly on our framing exercise.

Raise the camera and you may replace a busy wall with a relatively plain tabletop or floor. Lower it and you may introduce a bright window or ceiling light.

A shelf behind the subject’s head can disappear with a small change in height. A previously hidden distraction can appear just as easily.

Before recording, look around the whole frame. Check the corners as well as the person.

Moving the camera a few inches may improve a shot more than adding another piece of equipment.

Three Ways to Use This in Real Filming

A Science Demonstration: Show the Person, Then the Process

Use an eye-level view to introduce the experiment and a higher view to show hands, apparatus and the working area.

The camera position should answer the viewer’s immediate question: who is explaining, or what is happening?

For this week’s practice, use harmless everyday materials. The notebook teaches the camera skill without adding the demands of an experiment.

An Organ Performance: Decide What the Audience Should Experience

An eye-level or gently raised view can show the performer and instrument. A higher angle may reveal hand movement across the keyboards. A moderate low angle can emphasise the performer and the scale of the organ.

Each view contributes something different. The choice depends on whether the moment is about the musician, the technique or the instrument itself.

A Sailing Film: Show Scale or Explain the Deck

A low viewpoint can emphasise rigging against the sky. A higher view can make deck arrangements easier to understand.

Try the comparison with a securely moored boat before adding the movement and distractions of filming afloat. Choose a stable position and keep clear of working ropes and crew.

Pro Tips: Small Adjustments, Better Results

Start with modest angles. A small change often gives a clearer comparison than an extreme view.

Move the camera, not just your eyes. Bending down while leaving the phone in the same position does not change its viewpoint.

Keep your subject comfortably framed. Watch for accidentally cropped heads or hands that leave the frame during the action.

Avoid placing a wide-angle camera very close to a face. Close camera positions can exaggerate the apparent size of nearer features, particularly with a strong upward view.

Check focus and brightness. A new angle may introduce a bright window or dark background. Use the controls you already understand to keep the important subject clear.

Support the camera safely. Use a suitable tripod or secure support. Do not improvise an unstable camera position above someone or climb onto furniture for this exercise.

Choose the angle for a reason. “It looks different” is a good beginning. “It lets the audience see the page” is a more useful filming decision.

A Personal Reflection: Make One Decision at a Time

With the cameras, visualisers and studio facilities available to me, there are many ways to cover an activity. The useful teaching question is still a simple one: what does this position help the viewer understand?

That is why I want this series to build one skill at a time.

A beginner does not need to manage camera height, sound, lighting, performance and editing as one large task. Three short clips provide a manageable experiment with an immediately visible result.

I would rather make the first goal concrete: record the same action from three heights, then explain one difference.

That explanation might be as simple as, “I chose the higher view because you can see the notebook.” It shows that the filmmaker is beginning to make a deliberate choice.

Optional Challenge: Choose the Best View for a Purpose

Once you have your three clips, choose one for each of these purposes:

• Introducing the person.
• Showing what they are doing.
• Giving them a stronger visual presence.

You can reuse a clip. There is no requirement for each purpose to have a different answer.

Then record one additional shot to improve your chosen view. Perhaps the high camera needs to come down slightly so that you can see the person’s expression. Perhaps the low shot needs a small sideways adjustment to remove a ceiling light.

This is how useful camera choices develop: record, watch, adjust.

Conclusion: Give the Viewer a Place to Stand

A camera does more than record an event. It gives the audience a position from which to experience it.

Eye level can bring us into a conversation. A higher view can reveal an activity. A lower view can give a subject greater presence.

Those are possibilities to explore, rather than rules to memorise.

This week, take one person, one notebook and one ordinary action. Record it from three heights. Watch what changes.

Then choose a viewpoint and finish this sentence:

“I put the camera here because…”

When you can answer that, you are beginning to direct the viewer’s experience.

You can find a lot more details on the website that accompanies the series at https://makingbetter.video/