Camera Movement

Moving the camera while shooting can add excitement, drama and depth to your visuals, but it should be planned before rolling the camera. Where will it move to, and what is the reason? Random movement, searching for something interesting, is usually not effective.

Moving the camera without motivation creates a distraction, which may be used intentionally to suggest the presence of a documentary camera or a character's POV, as in this action scene from The Border.

But more often you are using movement to add visual drama by showing the relationship between two elements, even creating suspense as you move between them, or following moving action to keep characters in the frame longer.

Moving the camera too fast creates a strobing or even blurred look, but this isn't a problem if you are following fast action. Moving across a static scene calls for a slower, smoother movement (the 5-second rule).

A crane, even a simple jib arm (above), can allow a smooth vertical movement, which creates a strong visual emphasis.

It's typically awkward to cut to another shot while the camera is moving, so you always need at least a pause at the beginning and end.

When you edit, you may want to eliminate the camera move to shorten or simplify the scene, so holding the wide shot at the beginning allows it to be used as a static shot.

Holding the end of the shot after the camera moves in close, allows that to also be used as a separate shot.