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
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