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Camera movments and storytelling


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Hi everyone,

 

Again with some fundamentals about storytelling, with no doubt camera movements have a lot of effects on storytelling (dolly, Truck, panning, tilting, sliding, steadycam,..) or Handheld, how does camera movements effect the storytelling, what are the meaning of all those movements ? whats the difference for example between moving the camera toward the subject face in a fast way or in a slow way? when we use the camera steady on a tripod and when we slide it slowly ? what the difference between for example shooting an OTS handheld or steady on tripod or Sliding it ?

 

there is a lot of camera movements does any one can advice on a book or an article discuss all those movements with their meanings please.

 

Attached is screen shot from United 93, a very realistic movie from Paul Greengrass when he shot most of it handheld.

 

post-65330-0-43933400-1400073119_thumb.jpg

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Camera movement - or the lack thereof - is a function of the specific story that is being told. Therefore, there are no right or wrong answers to your questions. It is largely a matter of context & style. For example, the director & DP of one film may choose to utilize a lot of dolly shots to heighten the energy in certain scenes, while another director & another DP may choose an entirely different style for the same project. In the end, it should always be what works for the story, but different people have different ways of telling the same story.

 

You can learn only so much from a class or books. The best way to learn what "works" & "when" is to watch as many films as possible. You will get a good sense of different styles that way.

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For sustained camera movement in a dialogue scene, the car when they flee the city in Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" fits with the characters' own conflicts and to what's happening and the world around them.

 

There are many films which use movement well, it's also worth keeping an eye out for films where it doesn't really work.

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Camera movement - or the lack thereof - is a function of the specific story that is being told. Therefore, there are no right or wrong answers to your questions. It is largely a matter of context & style. For example, the director & DP of one film may choose to utilize a lot of dolly shots to heighten the energy in certain scenes, while another director & another DP may choose an entirely different style for the same project. In the end, it should always be what works for the story, but different people have different ways of telling the same story.

 

You can learn only so much from a class or books. The best way to learn what "works" & "when" is to watch as many films as possible. You will get a good sense of different styles that way.

Thank you Bill

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