Camera Movement - Panning, Tilting and Tracking

PANNING, TILTING and TRACKING are ways to describe the movement of the camera when filming.

PANNING: A panning shot is where the camera is rotated from side to side along the horizontal axis.  A good example use would be to show a really wide mountain range by sweeping the camera from one side to the other.  Here we would give the audience a sense of just how massive the mountain range is over time.

Fig #1

An example of a panning shot used to create an panorama

TILTING:  A tilting shot is similar to the panning shot, however the camera is rotated up and down, along the vertical axis.  A good example use of a tilting shot would be to show a skyscraper by sweeping the camera from the bottom to the top.  Here we would give the audience a sense of just how tall the building is over time.

Fig #2

Tilt Camera Movement.

TRACKING:  A tracking shot (or Dolly Shot) differs from Panning and Tilting in that the camera actually moves (as opposed to just rotated).  The camera can move either forwards/backwards (called Tracking In), or from side to side (Tracking sideways).  In order to create a tracking shot which is smooth a Dolly System is used.  Here the camera is physically mounted on to a moving carriage which can be pushed along a track (this is why is it called a "Tracking Shot"), similar to a roller coaster.  The dolly creates a feeling like the camera is floating which would be difficult to achieve hand held.

Fig #3

A Dolly Tracking System