Video Shooting Basics-Camera Techniques

Video Shooting Basics
Candace Lee Egan

Camera Techniques
A companion book to this site is Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Should Know. The page numbers noted below refer to this book.

Zoom
Description: View of subject changes from tight to wide or wide to tight using the zoom control on the lens. The camera does not move. Pg. 7
Purposes: Change focus of attention from broad view to detail of subject or vice versa, keep size of moving subject the same in frame, reveal surroundings of subject (zoom out). Provides sense of magnifying subject without getting physically closer (zoom in).

Follow Action
Description: Camera follows subject as they move. May involve panning, tilting, and zooming.
Purposes: Keep subject in frame, add energy and movement to scene.

Let in/out
Description: Camera is stationary and subject enters or leaves frame.
Purposes: Allow subject to enter or leave scene, a transition between scenes or subjects. Let in can establish a setting and then bring attention to subject walking into setting. Let out can be used to end a scene.

Let in & Follow
Description: Subject enters camera frame and then camera follows moving subject.
Purposes: Establish a scene and then follow action, change attention from one subject to another, pickup pace of scene, transition between subjects.

Shift Attention
Description: Uses a pan, tilt or combination to change the main subject of a shot from one element to another.
Purposes: Shift attention from one element in the frame to another, show physical relationship between subject elements, follow action by changing framing when main action changes between subject elements or show secondary activities happening while main action occurs.

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