Establishing shot
Also known as: opening shot, wide shot, location shot
A wide shot that shows where a scene takes place, such as a mountain, a beach or a town, before the edit moves closer to the action.
Updated
What it means
An establishing shot tells the viewer where they are. It usually comes at the start of a sequence: an aerial view of a valley before the downhill run, a wide view of the beach before the surf, the town from above before a city ride. It gives context so the action that follows makes sense.
Drones made establishing shots easy for everyone, but they can also come from a wide ground shot, a time-lapse of the location, or a slow pan from a tripod. The goal is scale and place rather than detail.
In storytelling terms, it is the first line of a new chapter.
How it works in practice
Film at least one wide shot of every new location before you start the action. Golden hour light and a slow, steady move, such as a gentle push-in or a reveal, give the strongest results.
In the edit, start each section with an establishing shot, then cut to medium and close-up shots and the POV action. Returning to a wide view at the end of a sequence closes it neatly.
Even a phone pan at the trailhead or a quick drone hover above the parking lot gives the editor something to open with.
What to watch out for
Establishing shots that run too long slow the edit down. A few seconds is usually enough for viewers to understand the place.
Shots that are too wide and empty can lose the viewer. Include something that hints at the activity, like riders on the trail or surfers in the lineup, to connect the location to the story.
Forgetting to film them at all is the most common mistake. After a day of riding, you have plenty of action but nothing that shows where it happened, so make it a habit to capture one at arrival, even a short panorama or a phone pan.
How RawClip handles it
Upload your wide location and drone shots together with the action clips from the same day, and RawClip can use them to give your highlight a sense of place between the fast moments.