Types of close-up

There are various degrees of close-up depending on how tight (zoomed in) the shot is. The terminology varies between countries and even different companies, but in general these are:

* Medium Close Up ("MCU" on camera scripts): Half-way between a mid shot and a close-up. Usually covers the subject's head and shoulders.
* Close Up ("CU"): A certain feature, such as someone's head, takes up the whole frame.
* Extreme Close Up ("ECU" or "XCU"): The shot is so tight that only a fraction of the focus of attention, such as someone's eyes, can be seen.
* Lean-In: when the juxtaposition of shots in a sequence, usually in a scene of dialogue, starts with medium or long shots, for example, and ends with close-ups.
* Lean-Out: the opposite as a lean-in, moving from close-ups out to longer shots.
* Lean: when a lean-in is followed by a lean-out.

When the close-up is used in shooting, the focused on should not be put in the exactly middle of the frame. Instead, it should be located in the frame according to the law of golden section.

The earliest filmmakers — such as Thomas Edison, Auguste and Louis Lumière and Georges Méliès — tended not to use close-ups and preferred to frame their subjects in long shots. Film historians disagree as to which filmmaker first used a close-up, but D.W. Griffith used the shot extensively at an early date. For example, one of Griffith's short films, The Lonedale Operator (1911), makes significant use of a close-up of a wrench that a character pretends is a gun.

Close-ups may be more expensive than other shots due to the extra lighting and make-up needed.

Ideas and Reflections:
I will consider using all of the shot's listed above and I may even experiment with some of these shots. I have had an idea of using a a Medium Close Up of an object with dead plants on top of it.