Camera Moves

This page outlines the standard types of camera movement in film and video. In the real world, many camera moves use a combination of these techniques simultaneously.

Crab Dolly

A less-common term for tracking or trucking. The camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks for a very smooth movement. Also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot. Dolly Zoom A technique in which the camera moves closer or further from the subject while simultaneously adjusting the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size in the frame. Follow The camera physically follows the subject at a more or less constant distance. Pan Horizontal movement, left and right. Pedestal (Ped)Moving the camera position vertically with respect to the subject. Tilt Vertical movement of the camera angle, i.e. pointing the camera up and down (as opposed to moving the whole camera up and down). Track Roughly synonymous with the dolly shot, but often defined more specifically as movement which stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement. Truck Another term for tracking or dollying. Zoom Technically this isn't a camera move, but a change in the lens focal length with gives the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away.

Crabbing Shot
The term crabbing shot is a less-common version of tracking, trucking and/or dollying. These terms are more or less interchangeable, although dollying tends to mean in-and-out movement whereas the others tend to mean side-to-side movement at a constant distance from the action.

Dolly Shot

Filming The Alamo (2004) Photo by Sean Devine

A dolly is a cart which travels along tracks. The camera is mounted on the dolly and records the shot as it moves. Dolly shots have a number of applications and can provide very dramatic footage. In many circles a dolly shot is also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot. However some professionals prefer the more rigid terminology which defines dolly as in-and-out movement (i.e. closer/further away from the subject), while tracking means side-to-side movement.

Most dollies have a lever to allow for vertical movement as well (known as a pedestal move). In some cases a crane is mounted on the dolly for additional height and flexibility. A shot which moves vertically while simultaneously tracking is called a compound shot. Some dollies can also operate without tracks. This provides the greatest degree of movement, assuming of course that a suitable surface is available. Special dollies are available for location work, and are designed to work with common constraints such as doorway width. Dollies are operated by a dolly grip. In the world of big-budget movie making, good dolly grips command a lot of respect and earning power. The venerable dolly faced serious competition when the Steadicam was invented. Most shots previously only possible with a dolly could now be done with the more versatile Steadicam. However dollies are still preferred for many shots, especially those that require a high degree of precision.

Dolly Zoom

A dolly zoom is a cinematic technique in which the camera moves closer or further from the subject while simultaneously adjusting the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size in the frame. The effect is that the subject appears stationary while the background size changes (this is called perspective distortion). In the first example pictured, the camera is positioned close to the subject and the lens is zoomed out. In the second shot, the camera is several metres further back and the lens is zoomed in.

The Effect
Dolly zooms create an unnatural effect this is something your eyes would never normally see. Many people comment on the shot after seeing it for the first time, e.g. "That was weird" or "What just happened there?". The exact effect depends on the direction of camera movement. If the camera moves closer, the background seems to grow and become dominant. If the camera moves further away, the foreground subject is emphasized and becomes dominant. The effect is quite emotional and is often used to convey sudden realisation, reaction to a dramatic event, etc.

History
Invention of the dolly zoom is credited to cameraman Irmin Roberts. The technique was made famous by Alfred Hitchcock (Vertigobeing the best-known example), and was used by Steven Spielberg in Jaws and ET. Many other directors have used the technique, which brings us to an important warning...

Warning
The dolly zoom is often over-used by junior directors. Many film critics see it as a clich, so be very careful before you use this technique.

Other Terminology
The dolly zoom is also known as:

Hitchcock zoom Vertigo zoom or vertigo effect Jaws shot Trombone shot Zolly or zido Telescoping Contra-zoom Reverse tracking Zoom in/dolly out (or vice versa)

Follow Shot
The Follow shot is fairly self-explanatory. It simply means that the camera follows the subject ot action. The following distance is usually kept more or less constant. The movement can be achieved by dollying or tracking, although in many cases a Steadicam is the most practical option. Hand-held follow-shots are quite achievable in many situations but are not generally suited to feature film cinematography.

Camera Pan
A pan is a horizontal camera movement in which the camera moves left and right about a central axis. This is a swiveling movement, i.e. mounted in a fixed location on a tripod or shoulder, rather than a dolly-like movement in which the entire mounting system moves. To create a smooth pan it's a good idea to practice the movement first. If you need to move or stretch your body during the move, it helps to position yourself so you end up in the more comfortable position. In other words you should become more comfortable as the move progresses rather than less comfortable.

Pedestal Shot
A pedestal shot means moving the camera vertically with respect to the subject. This is often referred to as "pedding" the camera up or down.

The term comes from the type of camera support known as a pedestal (pictured right). Pedestals are used in studio settings and provide a great deal of flexibility as well as very smooth movement. Unlike standard tripods, pedestals have the ability to move the camera in any direction (left, right, up, down). Note that a pedestal move is different to a camera tilt, which means the camera is in the same position but tilts the angle of view up and down. In a ped movement, the whole camera is moving, not just the angle of view. In reality, like most camera moves, the pedestal move is often a combination of moves. For example, pedding while simultaneously panning and/or tilting.

Camera Tilt
A tilt is a vertical camera movement in which the camera points up or down from a stationary location. For example, if you mount a camera on your shoulder and nod it up and down, you are tilting the camera. Tilting is less common than panning because that's the way humans work we look left and right more often than we look up and down. The tilt should not be confused with the Dutch Tilt which means a deliberately slanted camera angle. A variation of the tilt is the pedestal shot, in which the whole camera moves up or down.

Tracking Shot

The term tracking shot is widely considered to be synonymous with dolly shot; that is, a shot in which the camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks. However there are a few variations of both definitions. Tracking is often more narrowly defined as movement parallel to the action, or at least at a constant distance (e.g. the camera which travels alongside the race track in track & field events). Dollying is often defined as moving closer to or further away from the action. Some definitions specify that tracking shots use physical tracks, others consider tracking to include hand-held walking shots, Steadicam shots, etc. Other terms for the tracking shot include trucking shot and crabbing shot.

Trucking Shot

Trucking is basically the same as tracking or dollying. Although it means slightly different things to different people, it generally refers to side-to-side camera movement with respect to the action. The term trucking is not uncommon but is less widely-used than dollying or tracking. Yet another equivalent term iscrabbing. The example on the right shows a simple, very mobile set of tracks used with a standard tripod to create smooth trucking shots.

Zoom Shot
A zoom is technically not a camera move as it does not require the camera itself to move at all. Zooming means altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action. The effect is not quite the same though. Zooming is effectively magnifying a part of the image, while moving the camera creates a difference in perspective background objects appear to change in relation to foreground objects. This is sometimes used for creative effect in the dolly zoom. Zooming is an easy-to-use but hard-to-get-right feature of most cameras. It is arguably the most misused of all camera functions.

Video Camera Zooming

The zoom is the function which moves your point of view closer to, or further away from, the subject. The effect is similar to moving the camera closer or further away. (It isn't quite the same as moving the camera though. More on that later.)

The two most common zoom mechanisms are shown below: 1. Manual zoom (ring). This is a zoom ring on the lens housing which is rotated manually, typically by the left thumb and index finger. Advantages: Speed (you can do super-fast zooms); doesn't require power (so no drain on your battery). Disadvantages: More difficult to control; harder to get smooth zooms. 2. Servo zoom (lever). This is a lever which sits on the lens housing. It's usually positioned so that when you slide your right hand into the grip belt, the servo zoom will be sitting under your first two fingers. Pressing the front part of the lever zooms in, pressing the rear part zooms out. Cheaper cameras usually have a constant zoom speed, whereas a good servo zoom will have variable speed -- the further you depress the lever, the faster the zoom. The lever may have labels such as T and W (tele and wide). Advantages: Easy to use in most situations; nice smooth zooms. Disadvantages: Uses battery power; may be limited to fixed speeds. There's an important characteristic of zoom lenses that you should be aware of: The further you zoom in, the more difficult it is to keep the picture steady. At very long zooms, a tripod is essential. If you're having trouble keeping your shot steady, it may be possible to move yourself closer to the subject and then zoom out. This way you'll have essentially the same framing, but much steadier. Zooming is the function everyone loves. It's easy and you can do lots with it, which is why it's so over-used. The most common advice we give on using the zoom is use it less. It's a great tool in moderation, but when most of your shots are zooming in and out, your audience will feel nauseous. As a rule, don't zoom unless there is a reason to. If you want to show both the whole scene as well as some close-up details, you don't need to have a zoom in. Instead, shoot a wide shot, stop recording, zoom in to a close up, then start recording again. The result is one shot which cuts cleanly and quickly to another, portraying the same information as a zoom, but more efficiently.

Digital Zoom vs Optical Zoom

There are two types of zoom on a video camera digital zoom and optical zoom. A camera can have either or both types. The two different types are very different and the unwary buyer can get caught out badly by not understanding how they work.
Digital Zoom

This is often trumpeted as a big selling point by manufacturers. It's common to see a large "150X" emblazoned on the side of a camcorder. Video stores are full of naive customers comparing the digital zoom of different cameras.

Do not be fooled! Digital zoom is all but irrelevant. It only exists as a marketing ploy to trap unsuspecting newbies. Ignore this spec completely, and if a salesperson tries to impress you with it, find another salesperson. Digital zoom works by magnifying a part of the captured image using digital manipulation. This is the same as how a graphics program resizes an image to a larger size. The process involves taking a certain number of pixels and creating a larger image, but because the new image is based on the same number of pixels, the image loses quality. At small zooms (up to 20x) the loss may not be too noticeable. At large zooms (up to 100x or more) the quality becomes absolutely terrible. Some digital zooms use interpolation, which is a way of estimating the value of the new pixels rather than simply duplicating existing pixels. In theory this should reduce the loss of quality, but no amount of interpolation will prevent loss altogether. Remember that digital zoom can be done in post-production with any half-decent editing software, so you really gain nothing by having the camera do it.
Optical Zoom

This is the zoom spec which matters. Optical zoom is provided by the lens (i.e. the optics) and does not lose image quality. The zoom is provided by a telephoto lens. Most consumer camcorders come with optical zooms of between 10x and 20x. 10x is adequate for most applications. More is usually better 20x should be ample for all but the most demanding zoom users.

Camera Angles
The term camera angle means slightly different things to different people but it always refers to the way a shot is composed. Some people use it to include all camera shot types, others use it to specifically mean the angle between the camera and the subject. We will concentrate on the literal interpretation of camera angles, that is, the angle of the camera relative to the subject.

Eye-Level
This is the most common view, being the real-world angle that we are all used to. It shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot.

High Angle
A high angle shows the subject from above, i.e. the camera is angled down towards the subject. This has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful, less significant or even submissive.

Low Angle
This shows the subject from below, giving them the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

Bird's Eye
The scene is shown from directly above. This is a completely different and somewhat unnatural point of view which can be used for dramatic effect or for showing a different spatial perspective. In drama it can be used to show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, enabling the viewer to see things the characters can't. The bird's-eye view is also very useful in sports, documentaries, etc.

Slanted
Also known as a dutch tilt, this is where the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle. This creates an interesting and dramatic effect. Famous examples include Carol Reed's The Third Man, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and the Batman series. Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV-style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.

Dutch Tilt

Dutch Tilt Shot

A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera angle is deliberately slanted to one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc. A dutch tilt can be a static shot, or used with simultaneous panning, tilting and/or zooming.

Other Terminology
The Dutch tilt is also known as Dutch angle, German angle, oblique angle, canted angle and even the Batman angle.

Etymology
The Dutch tilt was used a lot in German films of the 1930s and 1940s. This is where the name German angle came from. The Dutch term is said to have been a mistranslation of the German Deutsch.

Shot Types

There is a convention in the video, film and television industries which assigns names and guidelines to common types of shots, framing and picture composition. The list below briefly describes the most common shot types (click the images for more details). Notes:

The exact terminology varies between production environments but the basic principles are the same. Shots are usually described in relation to a particular subject. In most of the examples below, the subject is the boy. See below for more information and related tutorials.

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot) The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

VWS (Very Wide Shot) The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

WS (Wide Shot) The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible. AKA: long shot, full shot.

MS (Mid Shot) Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

MCU (Medium Close Up) Half way between a MS and a CU.

CU (Close Up) A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

ECU (Extreme Close Up) The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail. Variation: Choker

Cut-In Shows some (other) part of the subject in detail.

CA (Cutaway) A shot of something other than the subject.

Two-Shot A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Noddy Shot Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

Point-of-View Shot (POV) Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

Weather Shot The subject is the weather. Can be used for other purposes, e.g. background for graphics.