Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 11.11. (top) A leveling headwith a Mitchell type mounting plate— an essential part of many cameramounting systems.Figure 11.12. (middle) An O’Connorfluid head. Chadwell O’Connor wasthe inventor of the fluid head. (Photocourtesy of O’Connor.)Figure 11.13. (bottom) A gearedhead. Long a staple in classic studioproduction, it is essential not onlyfor the ability to execute perfectlysmooth and repeatable moves butalso for the ability to hold very heavycameras. On top is a tilt plate. (Photocourtesy of Arri Group.)Rolling ShotThe term rolling shot is used wherever the camera is mounted on avehicle, either on the picture vehicle or a camera car that travelsalong with the picture vehicle. The “picture” vehicle is the onebeing photographed.CAMERA MOUNTINGHandheldHandheld is any time the operator takes the camera in hand, usuallyheld on the shoulder, but it can be held low to the ground, placed onthe knees, or any other combination. For many years, handheld wasthe primary means of making the camera mobile in cases where adolly was not available or not practical (on stairs, for example). Now,with so many other ways to keep the camera mobile, handheld ismost often used for artistic purposes.Handheld has a sense of immediacy and energy that cannot beduplicated by other means. It suggests a documentary approach andthus subtly implies that “you are there,” and “it’s really happening.”Camera HeadThe camera cannot be mounted directly on a tripod or dolly. If itwas, there would be no way to pan or tilt the camera. On dollies,cranes and car mounts, there is also an intermediate step: the levelinghead (Figure 11.11). This is the base the camera head sits on, whichallows for leveling of the camera. In the case of a tripod, leveling isaccomplished by lengthening or shortening one of the legs to getthe camera level. Camera heads make smooth, stable, and repeatablemoves possible. Camera heads have two main types of mounts: theflat Mitchell plate (Figure 11.11) and the ball head, which allows forleveling the head quickly. Heads fall into the following categories.Fluid HeadThese use oil and internal dampers and springs to make extremelysmooth left/right and up/down moves possible (Figure 11.12). Theamount of resistance is adjustable. Most camera operators want thehead to have a good amount of resistance working against them.Geared HeadThese heads are operated with wheels that the operator can movevery smoothly and precisely repeat moves (Figure 11.13). The gearedhead has a long and venerable history in studio production. Thegeared head is useful not only for the ability to execute smooth andrepeatable moves but also because it can handle very heavy cameras.Remote HeadGeared heads can also be fitted with motors to be operated remotelyor by a computer for motion control (mo-co). Remotely controlledheads are used for a variety of purposes and have made possible theuse of cranes, which extend much farther and higher than wouldbe possible if the arm had to be designed to carry the weight of anoperator and camera assistant.Underslung HeadsThese are fluid heads, but the camera is not mounted on top; it issuspended on a cradle below the pivot point. Underslung heads canrotate vertically far past where an ordinary fluid head can go andthus are good for shots that need to go straight up or down or evenfurther. They are specialized rigs, but they have many uses.cinematography216