CAMERA MOVEMENT

Basically, there are two kinds of camera movement: non-spatial movement of the camera (pan, tilt, pedestal and zoom); and spatial movement of the camera (crane, trucking/tracking and dolly). (1) Non-Spatial Camera Movement In this kind of movement, the camera remains very stationary: it does not move from point A to point B. It moves, instead, either on its axis. The camera has two axes: the 90o axis and the 360o axis. The axial movement of the camera results when the camera revolves on either of these two axes. On the 90o axis, it tilts: it looks up (tilt up) and it looks down (tilt down). On the 360o axis, it pans: it looks left (pan left) and it looks right (pan right). In other words, when the camera pans, it moves horizontally; and when it tilts, the movement is located on the vertical plane. The pedestal is a camera mount. It can be raised or lowered, thus moving the camera up or down. To ped up, therefore, is to raise the camera, to move the camera p; to ped down, to lower it. For the zoom, the zoom lever on the camera is engaged. The effect created by this is one of movement – of the camera moving towards the action/subject (zoom in) or moving away from it (zoom out). On the whole, the effect is rather artificial. (2) Spatial Camera Movement The movement here involves the actual movement of the camera For the crane shot, the camera is hoisted into the air in a crane. The truck is a mobile camera mount. By this means, the camera can move to the left (when we truck left) and to the right (truck right) of the action/subject. The dolly is another mobile camera mount. Through it, it becomes possible to move the camera towards (dolly in) and away from the action/subject (dolly out). General Uses of Camera Movement While assessing the art of the motion, picture cameraman, Ernest Lindgren discusses, in general terms, the uses of camera movement. These are to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) keep a moving subject in sight. establish or highlight the temporal relationship among subjects. establish or highlight the spatial relationship among subjects. impart the illusion of movement to static subjects. annul the limitations inherent in the fixed and static proportions of the frame. create the illusion of three-dimensionality on the two-dimensional frame.