Definition:
Everything in cinema begins here. A shot is a single continuous recording from the moment the camera starts rolling to the moment it stops: the fundamental unit of filmmaking from which all editing material is built. Every film is a sequence of shots. Every sequence is a collection of them.
What It Means in Movies:
A shot can last a fraction of a second or twenty minutes. It can be static or moving, close or wide, from the ground or from the air. What makes it a shot is simply that it is one uninterrupted recording. The shot is the atom of cinema. All of film language is expressed through individual shots and through what happens when those shots are placed in relation to each other.
Why It Matters:
Understanding the shot is understanding the basic unit of visual language. A screenwriter who does not think in shots produces unfilmable scripts. A director who does not think in shots cannot plan a day's work. An editor who does not think in shots cannot assemble a sequence.
Example:
A single dialogue scene in a feature film might be constructed from twelve individual shots: establishing shot, two-shot, over-the-shoulder shots from each angle, close-ups, and insert shots. The scene exists nowhere until those shots are cut together.