cowboy shot
cowboy shot noun: a shot framed to include a region from the actor's head to mid-thigh.
Noun
cowboy shot (plural cowboy shots)
- A shot framed to include a region from the actor's head to mid-thigh.
- In Europe, the term plán americain or plano americano refers to a shot framed from mid-leg up, basically a cowboy shot. Beyond this we are into the realm of close-ups.2002, Blain Brown, Cinematography, page 12
- One drawback to following an actor on stairs is that you are looking at the actor's back (and worse, emphasizing his or her behind if you are climbing the stairs in a cowboy shot).2009, Jerry Holway, Laurie Hayball, The Steadicam Operator's Handbook, page 148
Forms of cowboy shot
| plural | cowboy shots |
|---|
Origin of cowboy shot
From the framing of cinema shots in Westerns, where the holster and gun needed to be in view along with the actor's face.
Questions about cowboy shot
- What does cowboy shot mean?
- Cowboy shot means a shot framed to include a region from the actor's head to mid-thigh.
- What part of speech is cowboy shot?
- Cowboy shot is a noun.
- What is the plural of cowboy shot?
- The plural of cowboy shot is cowboy shots.
Words near cowboy shot in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cowboy shot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-cowboy shot.ogg.
Cite this entry: “cowboy shot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cowboy_shot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.