ABSTRACT
Overhead shots show characters and their immediate surrounding area from directly above, resulting in a stylized, visually captivating perspective. Overhead shots are taken from a much shorter distance to the ground than aerial shots, which often show vistas from hundreds and even thousands of feet in the air. The downward angle of an overhead shot, however, makes it less than ideal to showcase body language or facial expressions when characters are standing, which is sometimes exploited to add a sense of mystery and intrigue to a story by purposely preventing audiences from identifying them or their demeanor as they perform an action. Overhead shots can be difficult to set up and execute depending on the method used to obtain them.
