Camera Movement

Basic Movement
• Pan
• Tilt
• Spin
• Zoom
• Tracking (Dolly, Trucking, Pedestal)
• Rack Focus
• Crane/Aerial

Pan
• Camera is stationary but is moved from side to
side on a horizontal plane
• Commonly Used for…
– Establishing shots of locations

Tilt
• Camera is stationary but tilts up and down on
a vertical plane
• Commonly used for:
– Introducing a character, particularly to show
power/wealth

Spin
• A stationary camera rotates 360 degrees on
the z-axis
• Used for (it’s not that common):
– Shows disorientation, odd perspectives

Zoom
• The camera doesn’t move, but the use of a
zoom lens gives the illusion of motion, getting
closer to the subject.
• Commonly used for:
– Drawing focus on an important person/object
(Try to avoid using zoom where possible unless
there’s a VERY good reason to do so.)

Tracking
• A tracking camera follows a line of action. It is
usually made up of Dolly (camera moves forwards
and backwards), Pedestal (Camera moves up and
down) and Trucking (camera moves side to side)
movement. Sometimes, it can be done on a jib,
track or handheld with a steadicam.
• Commonly used for:
– Revealing details through POV

Rack Focus
• Like zoom, this gives the illusion of movement.
Focus is ‘pulled’ from one subject to another.
• Commonly used for:
– Dialogue. In ‘Two Shots’ where one character is in
the foreground and one is in the background,
focus is pulled between them. One is blurry, the
other is in focus and vice versa.

Crane/Aerial
• The camera is mounted very high up;
movement varies between tilts, pans and
tracking.
• Commonly used for:
– Birds Eye Views of large events (battles etc.)

TASK
• Watch the clip and make a note of all the
camera movement within.
• Take a camera and and film short sequences
which include one of the camera movements
that you recorded.