Lesson 2 · 16 min
Shot size and angle aren't aesthetics: they decide what the audience sees and how they feel about the character. And it's a vocabulary that Google's official video prompt guide lists with names and examples. You leave with your scene's shot ladder written in the terms the prompt uses.
Start the lesson
Goal: choose the shot size and angle based on the audience's emotion, and write the scene's shot ladder in the generator's terms.
From the widest to the tightest. Each step answers a question.
Decision rule: if the place or the action matters more, go wide; if the emotion matters more, go tight; if a detail changes the story, go to the detail.
Three decisions per shot, always based on what the audience should feel.
A wide shot answers "where are we?". A close shot answers "how does this feel?". The detail shows what changes the story.
A path that works: open wide to show the world, move in to reveal the emotion, and end on a close-up or detail for impact.
Wide shot of the dark street with the bakery lit up; medium shot of Dona Lia at the counter; close-up of her face lit by the oven.
Eye level is neutral. A high angle, looking down, makes the character small or vulnerable. A low angle, looking up, makes them powerful or imposing.
A top-down shot gives a map-like view; a worm's-eye view exaggerates height; a dutch angle (tilted camera) brings discomfort. Use the dutch angle rarely, or it loses its force.
Google's video prompt guide (Veo and Gemini Omni Flash, page updated on 10/15/2026) lists these angles and warns: some advanced angles and lenses are not officially supported, and results vary.
In practice, a simple, well-justified angle comes out more stable than a rare one. If the rare one doesn't work, swap it for a simple one with the same intent.
A wide-angle lens opens the field and exaggerates perspective: the place looks bigger. A telephoto lens narrows the field and compresses space: the background looks glued on and the subject is isolated.
Shallow depth of field keeps only the subject sharp and blurs the rest. It is a quiet way to say where to look (lesson 5).
The vocabulary in Portuguese with the term used in prompts, and the ladder template. Angles, movements and lenses checked against Google's official guide on 10/19/2026.
# tamanho do plano plano geral / de estabelecimento → establishing shot, extreme wide shot plano aberto → wide shot plano americano → medium wide shot (cowboy shot) plano médio → medium shot meio primeiro plano → medium close-up close (primeiro plano) → close-up plano detalhe → extreme close-up, macro shot # ângulo altura do olho → eye-level shot câmera alta (plongée) → high-angle shot câmera baixa (contra-plongée) → low-angle shot zenital → bird's-eye view, top-down shot rente ao chão → worm's-eye view holandês → dutch angle, canted angle # lente grande-angular → wide-angle lens teleobjetiva → telephoto lens profundidade de campo rasa → shallow depth of field
Scene: <scene name> 1 | <size> | <angle> | <what the shot shows and what the audience feels> 2 | <size> | <angle> | <what the shot shows and what the audience feels> 3 | <size> | <angle> | <what the shot shows and what the audience feels>
The page checks that each shot has a size and an angle and that the ladder varies: at least 4 different sizes and 3 different angles.
Use the scene from the card in lesson 1.
Write the ladder for your scene: on each line, the size, the angle, and what the audience sees and feels. Vary it: at least 4 sizes and 3 angles. Check it in the section above and download the escada.txt into the project folder.
Done when: the page answers OK: [n] shots with varied size and angle for your text, and the escada.txt is in the project folder.
Pick the shot that carries the emotion of the scene and imagine it from another angle. At the end of the escada.txt, write a line starting with Swap: with the new angle and what changes in the audience's feeling.
Done when: the escada.txt has, after the shots, a line that starts with Troca: with an angle different from the original and the effect in one sentence.
Four questions. The explanation shows up after each answer.
Question 1 of 4
The scene needs to show that Dona Lia is alone in a neighborhood that is still asleep. Which shot size?
Question 2 of 4
According to Google's official guide, what does the low-angle shot do to the character?
Question 3 of 4
What does the official guide warn about advanced angles and lenses?
Question 4 of 4
When is the detail shot (extreme close-up) the right choice?
Pick an answer. The explanation appears after you try.