Cinematography is a visual art, and the job of the cinematographer is to bring a director’s vision to life. Camera precision is necessary to do this effectively, and the most creative cinematographers have stretched the limits of traditional camera operation through camera movement to reinvent visual storytelling.
When operating a camera in three dimensions, there are 6 basic ways to move a camera, divisible by two axes: the axis of rotation and the axis of translation. Think of these in the geometrical sense: you can move an object by rotating or by sliding it. You can rotate a camera with a pan, tilt, or roll, and you can translate with a push/pull, track or boom.
A pan is the most basic form of camera movement. Simply place a camera on a tripod and rotate the camera horizontally, providing new information with each second the camera rotates. A pan is the most realistic of camera moves because it mirrors our horizontal outlook on the world. Think of it like scanning or watching. These shots are in nearly every movie ever made, so it’s hard to identify one specific use that stands out. However, I like how Wes Anderson uses whip-pans to accentuate characters in “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Whip pans are not common, so their use in the film immediately draws the eye. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is an artsier film than others, so this fits perfectly into the style of the film. It’s unorthodox, it’s enticing, and it brings focus to the wide array of characters in such a unique way that effectively shows the relationship between characters in a given scene.
A camera tilt is similar to the pan, except it acts strictly in the vertical direction. Tilting the camera upward instills a sense of wonder, amazement, or awe, while a tilt downwards can deliver a sense of failure or set the setting of a scene. The most famous example of a tilt down is the opening shot of “Star Wars”. The camera drifts down from the stars and reveals a planet with its corresponding moons before the spaceships can fly into frame. The opening ten seconds, by definition, show “Star Wars”, showing a collective of stars first before revealing battling spaceships in the scene. This helps set the scene for the story and sets a template for every “Star Wars” film that followed.
"Star Wars", 1977
A roll is quite distinct from the aforementioned movements because people do not have much experience in this form of movement. By placing a camera on a tripod and moving the camera from side to side, one can achieve a roll. Applying a roll to a scene creates a feeling of disorientation or uneasiness. It’s uncanny and disorienting.
When Patrick Hockstetter flees from Pennywise in “It”, a subtle roll helps create a feeling of panic. Patrick is lost in the sewers and in desperate fear for his life, so the small tilt emboldens his feeling of fear. At the same time, it’s telling of Pennywise’s methods. He distorts the reality of his victims in the same way that a small tilt distorts the orientation of the image and creates a feeling of helplessness.
"It", 2017
While rotational movements shift perspective from a fixed camera location, transitional movements allow the camera to move through space during a scene. This can help guide the focus of the audience or create something visually riveting.
The push/pull is the most common form of transitional movement. A push in tells the audience to pay attention. It focuses attention on the subject of the frame and continues to demand that attention throughout the duration of the push. A push out, more commonly known as a pull, creates a feeling of isolation or the realization of an ugly truth. It takes the subject of the frame and pushes them farther and farther away. My favorite use of the push-in comes from “The Godfather”, when Michael Corleone sits down with a corrupt police chief and Virgil Sollozo, his father’s attempted murderer. Until this point, Michael was never involved with his family’s crime business, but the attempt on his father’s life creates an ultimatum, and this is seen in the push-in of the shot. The camera focuses on Michael’s darting eyes, moving frantically because he understands what he has to do. This is a climax for Michael. He either kills the Sollozo and the corrupt police chief and leaves his peaceful, civilian life behind, or he leaves the restaurant and risks a gang war and the lives of his family members. As the camera pushes in closer, Michael comes to the realization of what he has to do, leading to Michael standing up and opening fire on his two dinner guests.
"The Godfather", 1972
Another interesting example of this shot occurred in “Inception”, during the anti-gravity hallway fight scene. According to Wally Pfister, the cinematographer for the film, “we fixed the camera to a grooved track in the floor that would push back and forth even as the room was spinning. And rather than use CGI to paint out the track, our production designer created a striped pattern in the carpet that hid it perfectly”.
A tracking shot is a lateral following of a subject moving through space, similar to walking alongside a friend, except you are looking at their side profile the entire time. It simultaneously delivers new information as it takes some away. One example of this that stands out to me is its use to define Monsieur Gustav in “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. He is shown walking from the window of a suite to the door, allowing a small group of hotel staff to carry various objects into the room. We learn later that one of the esteemed guests at the hotel is to meet in the suite with Gustav, and the tracking shot determines the location as well as his attentiveness to his guests by emphasizing his speed. He, as concierge, attends to the demands of his guests with due diligence. Furthermore, he directs the hotel staff, emphasizing his importance.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel", 2014
A boom is another interesting way to establish the location of a scene. This is a dolly or crane physically moving the camera vertically, either up or down. A boom downwards creates the mood that the audience is diving into the fictitious world. A boom upwards can have a similar effect to a tilt upwards but often holds a connotation different from the tilt. Booming upwards gives a rising or uplifting feeling, and booming downwards feels like falling. I like the use of this in “The Dark Knight Rises”, when Bruce Wayne finally crawls out of the pit. After being physically beaten by Bane and thrown into the pit, Bruce must overcome his trauma and literally rise from the depths. After Bruce makes his escape from the pit, the camera moves upwards as Bruce moves towards the nearest town, focusing on what lies ahead rather than the imprisonment that was the pit.
"The Dark Knight Rises", 2012
These are not the only methods by which to tell an interesting visual story. A lot can be studied about framing a shot, focus within a shot, and the blocking of the actors within your story. These, however, are the six fundamental camera movements to show a character’s interaction with the world around them.