Topic summary
Close-ups
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Close-up.
Practical application
Close-ups are used in many ways and for many reasons. They are often employed as cutaways from a more distant shot to show detail, such as characters' emotions or some intricate activity with their hands. Close cuts to characters' faces are used far more often in television than in movies and are especially common in soap operas. For a director, deliberately avoiding close-ups may create in the audience an emotional distance from the subject matter.