skills/ai-film-pipeline-master/references/phase-03-shooting-script/vlb-angle-height.md

# 3 — Angle, Height and Azimuth

From the Visual Language Bible. Start from `./vlb-decision-tables.md`: name the change you want in the scene, take the technique it hands you, and read its card here.

This section is in both stages. A shot has a frame as much as a still does, and a references-to-video prompt has no keyframe to inherit one from.

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## 3 — Angle, Height and Azimuth


These are **three independent dials**, not one. Most people conflate them and lose two-thirds of
their power.

| Dial | What changes | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| **Height** | camera above or below | who is physically larger |
| **Angle** | camera tilted up or down | power and judgement |
| **Azimuth** | camera around the subject | openness and honesty |

You can shoot an **eye-level angle from a low height** — camera on the floor but not tilted up.
That is a completely different shot from a low angle.

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- **3.1 The Vertical Angle** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.angle_from_the_claim`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_vertical_angle).
- **Eye Level** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.eye_level`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.eye_level).
- **Low Angle** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.low`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.low_angle).
- **Extreme Low / Worm's Eye** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.extreme_low_worms_eye`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.extreme_low_worm_s_eye).
- **High Angle** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.high`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.high_angle).
- **Bird's Eye / Overhead / Top-Down / God's Eye** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.extreme_high_birds_eye`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.bird_s_eye_overhead_top_down_g).
- **Dutch Angle / Canted / Oblique** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.subtle_dutch` · `angle.hard_dutch`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.dutch_angle_canted_oblique).
- **3.2 Azimuth — Rotation Around the Subject** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.azimuth_frontal` · `angle.azimuth_three_quarter_front` · `angle.azimuth_profile` · `angle.azimuth_three_quarter_back` · `angle.azimuth_full_back` · `angle.azimuth_shift`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.azimuth_rotation_around_the_su).
- **3.3 The Height Ladder** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.ground_level`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_height_ladder).
- **3.4 The Laws That Govern Angle** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.rule_180` · `angle.rule_30` · `angle.eyeline_match`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_laws_that_govern_angle).
- **The 180-Degree Rule** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.rule_180` · `angle.crossing_the_line` · `angle.neutral_axis`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_180_degree_rule).
- **The 30-Degree Rule** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `angle.rule_30` · `cut.thirty_degree`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_30_degree_rule).
- **The Size-Change Rule** - retired as a mirror on 2026-09-23. The card lives at `size.one_size_tighter` · `cut.axial`; this was the Visual Language Bible's copy (its id was vlb.angle.the_size_change_rule).