The Complete Online Filmmaking Reference - Film Distribution ...

Cinematography camera moves
The camera moves and angles
Movies should move. Even when the actors aren't moving the camera should keep moving to keep the audience
interested. The easiest way to "move" the camera is by cutting back and forth between the various coverage
angles. There are a number of other ways of actually moving the camera to keep a sense of movement in the
film.
All of the following should be used sparingly. The moving camera can be disconcerting to the audience, even
inducing nausea, and is most effective in small quantities or it begins to feel like a gimmick.
Pan - Turning the camera around the vertical axis to the left or right. A slow pan across a landscape can be a
good establishing shot. A quick pan from the hero to the villain sneaking up behind can startle the audience.
Tilt - Turning the camera on the horizontal axis to point up or down. Tilt down to show how deep a canyon is, or
tilt up to show the height of a cliff the hero must climb.
Dolly Shot - Any shot where the camera is mounted on a Dolly: a moving platform. The dolly may be on free
moving wheels or on a track to ensure the shot can be repeated in each take. This shot may be to follow some
action such as two people walking and talking. Often it is just to move the audience through a set so they can
understand the layout of the scene.
Tracking Shot - Moving the camera on a dolly to closely follow walking or running characters. A Tracking Shot is
one form of a Dolly Shot.
Crane Shot - The camera is mounted on a crane allowing the camera to move very high and then swoop back
down to the ground. Sometimes the crane is mounted on a dolly so the camera can move along the ground and
at the same time move up into the air. Crane shots are often difficult to pull off but can be highly effective
establishing shots.