Uses of Camera Movements

Camera angles and movements portray a variety of different emotions and ideas that can help in developing the significance and meaning of scenes in a movie. Here are some movements and their uses:

• Crane shot moving down- this moves viewers into the story or the scene, almost as if dropping the viewer into the scene
• Crane shot moving up- this shows how small the main object or character can be or how large an obstacle in the scene is
• Crane high to low- this creates a lot of fear in the viewer and shows authority in the main object of the scene
• Handheld camera movement- (often a ragged or shaky movement) it makes the viewer feel strange and sense danger
• Quick pan- this can change the emotional direction of a scene by perhaps revealing something dangerous that a character has to overcome
• Quick push in with the camera- this can create surprise or shock
• Slow dolly in- this can create tension and make the viewers grow more intimate with the character
• Slow dolly out- this can develop the character as lost and abandoned. this creates empathy and develops a relationship between the viewer and the character
• Dolly across- this reveals changes in the direction and emotion of the scene.
• Smooth glide cam shot- this creates an epic, dreamlike feeling that develops an emotion different from a shaky, handheld camera
• Glidecam 360- this creates a "calm before the storm" feeling. It can be a harbinger for change or chaos
• Zoom with a dolly shot (zolly)- this makes the background seem larger or smaller while the character stays the same. It creates an overwhelming, almost out-of-body emotional feeling