Camera Movements

  1. Dolly Zoom: La Haine (1995)

This camera movement combines the dolly shot (tracking shot) and the zoom to create a visually jarring camera movement; an idea of confusion, shock or abnormality can be crafted through this camera movement, and has been used by many famous directors, originating from Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’.

2. Tracking Shot: Birdman (2014)

The tracking shot is usually used to express a character or thing’s movements without cutting between shots. This type of camera movement also enhances the viewing experience as it adds a sense that you are moving with the characters.

In Birdman, most of the movie utilises this type of shot; this movie satirizes the theatre world and therefore, the use of this shot type helps the audience to feel as if they are actually behind the scenes, learning things about the theatre that are usually unseen to the audience. This feature wouldn’t be demonstrated as effectively if generic movie editing was used in this film as the continuous movement adds an extra layer of verisimilitude to the film.

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