A handheld camera in a film can make an image feel all shaky, as if the earth beneath it trembles. Or it can be so subtle that you’ll barely see it. In any case, it’s not just a tool for quick point and shoot. It’s a valuable part of the visual language in film that can achieve very different effects on viewers. Provided you don’t overdo it, of course. Let’s revisit the basics and examine the psychological aspects of the handheld camera, exploring how to utilize it for effective shots and impactful storytelling. Recently, I stumbled on a rant on the Internet, where someone listed handheld shots as something they couldn’t stand. They were irritated to see them everywhere and thought it was a highly overrated and overused technique. Well, we can surely agree that camera shake and breathing movement can be too much and create a feeling of motion sickness. So can a lot of other visual and editing choices when filmmakers use them without caution and clear intent. However, a handheld camera is nothing new. It belongs to the classic grammar of cinematography that dates back to the early days of cinema in the 1920s and gained its popularity in the 1960s and 70s during the French New Wave with the advent of more portable and lightweight cameras. There must be a reason why it has endured all these years and remains a popular cinematic technique to this day. The definition of a handheld camera As the name...
Published By: CineD - Today