Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 11.1. (previous page) Settingup a crane.Along with sequential editing, the ability to move the camera is themost fundamental aspect that distinguishes film and video from photography,painting, and other visual arts. As we have seen, movingthe camera is much more than just going from one frame to another.The movement itself, the style, the trajectory, the pacing, and thetiming in relation to the action all contribute to the mood and feel ofthe shot. They add a subtext and an emotional content independentof the subject.We talked about the cinematic uses of camera moves in Languageof the Lens; here we can cover the techniques and technology ofmoving the camera. The most basic use of the camera is where youput it. Camera placement is a key decision in storytelling. More thanjust “where it looks good,” it determines what the audience sees andfrom what perspective they see it. As discussed in the chapter onShooting Methods, what the audience does not see can be as importantas what they do see.Since Griffith freed the camera from its stationary singular point ofview, moving the camera has become an ever increasing part of thevisual art of filmmaking. In this section we will look at the dynamicsof camera movement and also take a look at some representativeways in which this is accomplished. The dolly as a means of movingthe camera dates from the early part of the 20th century. The cranecame into its own in the 1920s (see Figure 11.2 for a modern version).Shots from moving vehicles were accomplished in the earliestof silents, especially with the silent comedians, who didn’t hesitateto strap a camera to a car or train.. After the introduction of thecrane, little changed with the means of camera movement until theinvention of the Steadicam by Garrett Brown. It was first used onthe films Bound for Glory and Kubrick’s The Shining.MOTIVATION AND INVISIBLE TECHNIQUEIn narrative filmmaking, a key concept of camera movement is thatit must be motivated. The movement should not just be for the sakeof moving the camera; doing so usually means that the director issuffering from a lack of storytelling skills. Motivation can come intwo ways. First, the action itself may motivate a move. For example,if the character gets up from a chair and crosses to the window, it isperfectly logical for the camera to move with her. Not necessary, butclearly one way to do it.Both the start and the end of a dolly move or pan should be motivated.The motivation at the end may be as simple as the fact that wehave arrived at the new frame, but clearly it must be a new frame —one with new information composed in a meaningful way, not just“where the camera ended up.” A big part of this is that the camerashould “settle” at the end of any move. It needs to “alight” at thenew frame and be there for a beat before the cut point. This is especiallyimportant if this shot might cut to a static shot.Particularly with the start and end of camera moves that are motivatedby subject movement, there needs to be a sensitivity to thetiming of the subject and also a delicate touch as to speed. Youseldom want the dolly to just “take off ” at full speed, then grind toa sudden halt. Most of the time, you want the dolly grip to “feather”in and out of the move.The camera movement itself may have a purpose. For example, amove may reveal new information or a new view of the scene. Thecamera may move to meet someone or pull back to show a widershot. Unmotivated camera moves or zooms are distracting; they pullcinematography210