The Wide Shot

In film-making, the WIDE-SHOT (or Long-Shot) is most often used at the start of a scene to help to establish the location and show where the character(s) is situated within it.  They are also used for Master Shots in dialogue scenes (ie. a shot where both characters are seen together).

Fig. #1

An example of a Wide-Shot

From Pirates of the Caribbean 

Long-Shots are created by using a Wide-Angled lens (typically a lens of 35mm or wider/lower) which can capture a great expanse of the location in a single shot without needing to pan the camera from side to side.

Fig. #2

A 25mm Wide Angled Lens