To move the camera or not? A question every filmmaker faces now and then: A well-considered camera movement can deepen a story’s impact; a random one risks distracting or even disconnecting the audience. Yet some shots crave motion, namely tracking shots. You’ve seen them in countless movies, across every genre. But what makes them so popular, powerful, and immersive? And how can they be used to evoke emotion? Let’s take a look at some film examples and find out. Push, pull, slide (dolly) to the left or right – tracking shots belong to the area of so-called 3D camera movements. We’ll discuss in a second what that means. In case you want to get an overview of different types of motion in film, first, head over here to our elaborate guide. An epic battle tracking shot from “300” by Zack Snyder, 2006 What is a tracking shot, and why use it? As the name suggests, a tracking shot involves the camera tracking a subject, usually a character or an object, within the frame from one point to another, whereas the camera is also moving independently. A simple pan or tilt won’t do. In the course “Directing Motion” on MZed.com, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and filmmaker Vincent Laforet distinguishes between: • 2D movements: the camera rotated on a fixed axis (such as pans or tilts)• 3D movements: the camera physically moves through the scene. Tracking shots fall into the 3D category. They guide our attention, hold our focus, and often play out...
Published By: CineD - Yesterday