Cowboy Shot in Cinematography: 4 Examples of Cowboy Shots

A cowboy shot is a camera angle in filmmaking that frames its subject from the mid-thigh, just below hip level, to the top of their head. This shot derives its name from its use in Western films, where filmmakers kept both the actor’s face and guns slung around their waist in the frame. It’s also known as an American shot or three-quarter shot.

French film critics use the term to describe medium-long shots in American films which positioned actors in an informal line across the scene. According to critics, such a shot allowed long scenes of dialogue exposition to unfold in a single shot without requiring cinematographers and camera operators to add camera movements or new camera angles.

A cowboy shot has several purposes, including its ability to drive the action, highlight a character, and showcase emotion:

• Action: Cowboy shots showcase significant actions at a character’s waist or hip level in a scene. In Western films, this is typically a gun drawn from a holster, but it may also show an audience that a character’s hands are tensed for action or that they carry a significant prop or device at waist level.
• Character: Cowboy shots make a character seem large and significant within the frame. FIlmmakers use these shots to lend an element of heroism or confidence to a protagonist or to signify that a character has an imposing presence. In some cases, the cowboy shot makes a character stand out. For example, director Christopher Nolan frames actor Gary Oldman in a cowboy shot during The Dark Knight Returns (2012) scene; Oldman’s character, Lt. James Gordon, is speaking in a group of fellow officers. Nolan uses the cowboy shot to highlight how Gordon’s thoughts and attitude differ from the other cops.
• Emotion: A cowboy shot allows the filmmaker to frame the action and an element of the background in the scene while also reading emotion in the subject’s face. Director Sergio Leone uses the cowboy shot in a scene from A Fistful of Dollars (1964) in which star Clint Eastwood draws his gun on an unseen opponent while holding actress Marianne Koch close to him. The cowboy shot views Eastwood at a low angle to emphasize his heroism and dominance while also showing the concern in Koch’s face in a way that other camera shots, like a full shot or medium close-up, could not.

There are many examples of modern cowboy shots in popular films. Some notable cowboy shots in film include:

1. 1. The Favourite (2019): Director Yorgos Lanthimos’s period comedy-drama The Favourite uses the cowboy shot with a low angle in a scene in which the Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) talks with her new servant and cousin, Abigail Masham (Emma Stone). Weisz looms imposingly as the shot frames her from mid-thigh to the top of her brocaded hat; Lanthimos shows that Weisz’s character has all the power in the relationship.
2. 2. Fight Club (1999): Director David Fincher uses the cowboy shot in several scenes from his drama-fantasy Fight Club. One of its most evocative uses comes after Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) has beaten an opponent in a fight. Fincher places Pitt in a wide shot with other members of the Fight Club behind him to signify that he is a member; he also frames Pitt in a traditional cowboy shot, from the top of his head to his hands at his waist, to suggest the idea that his fists are weapons.
3. 3. Pulp Fiction (1994): Writer-director Quentin Tarantino uses the cowboy shot in his Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction to create tension and question character identity. In a scene in which the paid killer Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) threatens a man, the camera frames Jules in a cowboy shot so that the gun in his hand is visible. The shot asserts Jules’ threatening position, the chance of violence.
4. 4. Wonder Woman (2017): Director Patty Jenkins uses the cowboy shot to frame Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman during her first full-fledged appearance in costume on a World War I battlefield. The cowboy shot tells us everything we need to know about Wonder Woman—she is both heroic and imposing. The framing also allows us to see Wonder Woman’s l​​asso of truth, slung at her hip like a gunfighter in a Western.

There are many different types of shots and camera angles directors can use, including:

1. 1. Establishing shot: The establishing shot appears at the start of a scene to let the audience know where they are. It sets the stage for what’s to come in the scene.
2. 2. Master shot: The master shot is filmed from a vantage point that encompasses the action of a scene and keeps all major players in view. The master shot may be a long, medium, or even close-up shot, and the camera might even move throughout the scene. Regardless, the key is to record an uninterrupted take, from the start of the scene to its finish, from an angle that can easily be edited together with additional shots.
3. 3. Cutaway shot: A cutaway is a shot of something other than the main subject or action of a scene. Cutaway shots are useful in visual storytelling as a way to cut “away” from the main action to a secondary action or response.
4. 4. Wide shot: A wide shot, also called a long shot, is filmed from a distant vantage point in a way that emphasizes place and location, setting the subject of the scene in context.
5. 5. Extreme wide shot: An extreme wide shot, also called an extreme long shot, is filmed from an extreme distant vantage point. That extreme distance is intended to make the subject look small or insignificant within their location.
6. 6. Close-up shot: Close-up shots are filmed in a way that frames the subject tightly, filling the screen with a particular aspect or detail such as a face or a hand.
7. 7. Extreme close-up shot: An extreme close-up shot is a more intense version of a close-up, usually showing only the eyes or another part of the face.
8. 8. Medium shot: Somewhere between a close-up and a wide shot, the medium shot is filmed from a vantage point that shows a subject from the waist up, while also revealing some of the surrounding environment.
9. 9. Medium close-up shot: Somewhere between a close-up and a medium shot, the medium close-up shot is filmed from a vantage point that shows a subject from the waist up, but does not reveal a lot of the surrounding environment.
10. 10. Cowboy shot: A cowboy shot is a variation of a medium shot that frames a subject mid-thigh up, typically revealing a character grabbing a gun from a holster.
11. 11. Full shot: A subject fills the entire frame in a full shot. It communicates their appearance, their surroundings, and how they fit into their surroundings to the audience.
12. 12. High-angle shot: A shot looks down on a subject, giving the audience a sense of superiority to the subject.
13. 13. Low-angle shot: A shot looks up at a subject, giving the audience a sense of inferiority to the subject.
14. 14. Dutch angle: A shot where the camera is tilted to one side. Also called a canted angle, a dutch angle is meant to disorient the audience or convey chaos.
15. 15. Bird’s eye view shot: A shot from high in the sky looking down on a subject and/or their surroundings. Also called an overhead shot.
16. 16. Aerial shot: An aerial shot is shot from even higher than a bird’s eye view shot, usually from a helicopter or drone. It shows miles of scenery or cityscape from above, and while the subject may not be not visible, it communicates to the audience that they’re somewhere within that world.
17. 17. Tracking shot: A shot where the camera moves along with the character it’s filming.
18. 18. Dolly shot: A shot where the camera is moved along a dolly track, often in sync with, moving toward, or moving away from the subject as they move.
19. 19. Dolly zoom shot: An effect where the camera lens zooms while the camera is also dollying toward or away from the subject it’s filming. This creates the illusion that the background is moving closer or further away from the subject, while they stay still.
20. 20. One shot: Sometimes called a long take or continuous shot, this is a shot where an entire scene or whole film is filmed at once with no breaks.
21. 21. Two shot: When two subjects appear side by side or facing one another in a single frame.
22. 22. Over-the-shoulder shot: Another way to capture two subjects in the same frame is with an over-the-shoulder shot, when the camera is positioned behind the shoulder of one subject (with the other subject visible on screen). Often used during conversations and in alternation with a reverse shot from over the other speaker’s shoulders, the over-the-shoulder shot emphasizes a connection between characters.
23. 23. Point of view shot: A point of view shot shows the action through the eyes of a specific character. Essentially, it lets the audience become that character.

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