camera movement and composition

Camera Movement and Composition Word Bank

Camera Movement

Pan

Panning is moving the camera in a horizontal

movement, either left or right

Tilt

Tilting is moving the camera vertically, either moving the camera upwards or

downwards

Track

Movement that smoothly travels along with the

action taking place, it stays a constant distance away

from the action

Dolly

The camera is put onto a cart which moves smoothly along a track, this is very

similar to the tracking shot

Crane

The effect is achieved by the camera being put on a

crane that can move upwards

Steadicam

Has the freedom of a hand held shot but it has a

stabilization device which smoothes out the

bumpiness of it being a hand held shot

Hand-held

The camera is hand held by the operator, often shots are bumpy and unsteady

Zoom

A camera shot that changes smoothly from a long shot

to a close up

Reverse Zoom

A single shot which moves away from a particular

subject

Camera Compositio

n

Refers to how a shot is composed and the manner

in which subjects and objects are surrounded

Rule of Thirds

This is a compositional rule that suggests an image should be divided into nine equal parts, by two equally spaced horizontal

lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. At the intersections, important

compositional elements should be placed there.

Depth of Field

This refers to the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that

give an image judged to be in focus in a camera

Deep Focus

This is a technique that uses a large depth of field

This is a technique that uses a small depth of field

Focus Pull

This is where the focus is changed during a shot, usually adjusting focus

from one subject to another

An example of a focus pull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTM1qVnro8