Technical Content Creator

The Three-Shot Rule

Many of the most engaging videos use three simple shot types, each with a clear purpose. Filmmakers have relied on this for over a century, and it works just as well for a reel.

Technical professionals can use this also to make videos clearer, more dynamic, and easier to follow. This is how it works:

Wide Shot for Context

• Purpose: Establish where you are and what's going on. Orient the viewer.
• When to use: Open your video here. Let viewers know the setting (your desk, workshop, a project site).
• Mistake to avoid: Filming everything wide — it looks flat and surveillance-like.
• Example: Show your full desk with screens, drawings, coffee — the whole environment.

Medium Shot for Content

• Purpose: This is your workhorse. It's where you explain, teach, and tell your story.
• When to use: The bulk of your video. Chest-to-head framing keeps it personal without being too close.
• Example: You, at your desk, explaining the point you're making — the camera sees your face and upper body.

Close-Up / Detail Shot for Impact

• Purpose: Emphasise. Make something stick. Highlight the specific detail you're talking about.
• When to use: When you hit a key point you want viewers to remember.
• Example: A tight shot of the screen showing the specific line, dimension, or mistake you're discussing.

The pattern is: Wide → Medium → Close. Context → Content → Impact.

You don't need three cameras to do this. Film 4K wide and simply crop in post, or record the same take three times from different distances and cut them together. Varying your angles is what separates videos that feel professional from ones that feel like talking to a wall