ECU (Extreme Close-Up)
Definition
An Extreme Close-Up (ECU) is a shot that frames a very small detail of a subject — a single eye, a pair of lips, a finger on a trigger, a drop of sweat on a brow. The ECU is used for maximum dramatic impact, to draw the audience's attention to a specific detail that is critical to the narrative, or to create an intense sense of intimacy or claustrophobia. In the Spaghetti Western films of Sergio Leone, ECUs of characters' eyes during standoff sequences became an iconic visual language.
Contextual Usage
The director explains the shot to the camera operator: "I want an ECU of the actor's eye — just the eye, filling the entire frame. I want to see the moment when the realization hits them. The audience needs to see the exact instant when they understand what has happened."
About this section
Production — or "principal photography" — is the phase in which the film or video is actually shot. It is the most visible and, typically, the most expensive phase of the entire process. Every day on ...
View all 76 terms