A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object from
above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the
making of blueprints, floor plans, and maps.
It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing. Before manned flight was common, the term "bird's eye" was used to distinguish views drawn from direct observation at high locations (for example a mountain or tower), from those constructed from an imagined (bird's) perspectives. Bird's eye views as a genre have existed since classical times.
The last great flourishing of them was in the mid-to-late 19th
century, when bird's eye view prints were popular in the United States and
Europe.
The terms aerial view and aerial viewpoint are also
sometimes used synonymous with bird's-eye view.
The term aerial view can refer to any view from a great height, even at a wide angle, as for example when looking sideways from an airplane window or from a mountain top.
Overhead view is fairly synonymous with bird's-eye view but tends to imply a less lofty vantage point than the latter term.
For example, in computer and video games, an "overhead view" of a character or situation often places the vantage point only a few feet (a meter or two) above human height.
The Bird's Eye photos are angled at 40 degrees rather than
being straight down. Satellite imaging programs and photos have been described
as offering a viewer the opportunity to "fly over" and observe the
world from this specific angle.
In film-making and video production, a bird's-eye shot
refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject.
The perspective is very foreshortened, making the subject appear short and squat. This shot can be used to give an overall establishing shot of a scene, or to emphasize the smallness or insignificance of the subjects. These shots are normally used for battle scenes or establishing where the character is. It is shot by lifting the camera up by hands or by hanging it off something strong enough to support it. When a scene needs a large area shot, it is a crane shot.
Where as a worm's-eye view is a view of an object from
below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye
view.
It can be used to look up to something to make an object look tall, strong, and mighty while the viewer feels child-like or powerless. A worm's eye view commonly uses three-point perspective, with one vanishing point on top, one on the left, and one on the right.
It is a very common technique in paintings. The term a
worm's-eye view is a controversial term in real photography or videography (the process or art of making video films) circles, as some argue it cannot technically exist because worm's don't have
eyes. More often than not, this technique is considered a modification of a low
angle shot.
