In cinematography, a tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. Mostly the camera’s position is parallel to the character, creating a sideway motion, tracking the character. Tracking shots differ in motion from dolly shots, where the camera follows behind or before the character resulting in an in-worth or out-worth movement. Often the camera is mounted on a camera dolly which rides on rails similar to a railroad track; in this case, the shot is referred to as a dolly shot. A handheld steadycam or gimbal may also be used for smaller scale productions. The camera is then pushed along the track while the scene is being filmed, or moved manually when using a handheld rig. The effect can be used to create a sense of movement, to follow a character or object, or a sense of immersion to draw the viewer into the action.
A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself. When rotating, the orientation of this axis is unaffected by tilting or rotation of the mounting, according to the conservation of angular momentum.
A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of the rotation of its support. For example, on a ship, the gyroscopes, shipboard compasses, stoves, and even drink holders typically use gimbals to keep them upright with respect to the horizon despite the ship's pitching and rolling.
In engineering, iso-elastic refers to a system of elastic and tensile parts which are arranged in a configuration which isolates physical motion at one end in order to minimize or prevent similar motion from occurring at the other end. This type of device must be able to maintain angular direction and load-bearing over a large range of motion.
Garrett Brown is an American inventor, best known as the creator of the Steadicam. Brown's invention allows camera operators to film while walking without the normal shaking and jostles of a handheld camera. The Steadicam was first used in the Hal Ashby film Bound for Glory (1976), receiving an Academy Award, and since used on such films as Rocky, filming Rocky's running and training sequences, and Return of the Jedi, where Brown walked through a Redwood forest with the Steadicam shooting film at 1 frame per second to achieve the illusion of high speed motion during the speeder-bike chase.
Video production is the process of producing video content for video. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard drives, SSDs, magnetic tape or memory cards instead of film stock. There are three stages of video production: pre-production, production, and post-production. Pre-production involves all of the planning aspects of the video production process before filming begins. This includes scriptwriting, scheduling, logistics, and other administrative duties. Production is the phase of video production which captures the video content and involves filming the subject(s) of the video. Post-production is the action of selectively combining those video clips through video editing into a finished product that tells a story or communicates a message in either a live event setting, or after an event has occurred (post-production).
Cinema Products Corporation was an American manufacturer of motion picture camera equipment.
Arri Group is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. It is cited by Hermann Simon as an example of a "hidden champion". The Arri Alexa camera system was used to shoot several films that won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, including Hugo (2011), Life of Pi (2012), Gravity (2013), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015) and 1917 (2019).
This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described.
A SnorriCam is a camera device used in filmmaking that is rigged to the body of the actor, with the camera facing the actor directly so that they appear in a fixed position in the center of the frame. A SnorriCam presents a dynamic, disorienting point of view from the actor's perspective, providing an unusual sense of vertigo for the viewer.
Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure.
Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used because they are conveniently sized for travel and because they allow greater freedom of motion during filming. Newsreel camera operators frequently gathered images using a hand-held camera. Virtually all modern video cameras are small enough for hand-held use, but many professional video cameras are designed specifically for hand-held use such as for electronic news-gathering (ENG), and electronic field production (EFP).
Randall Robinson is an American cinematographer. He is a former president of the Society of Operating Cameramen and the founding publisher and editor of the Operating Cameraman Magazine. As a freelance cameraman he enjoyed a long successful career working for the major motion picture studios in Hollywood on feature films, television and commercials.
The Cineflex Heligimbal is a form of gimbal technology consisting of a motion-stabilized helicopter mount for motion picture cameras.
Sachtler is a manufacturer of film and video camera support products. The company was founded in 1958 and was bought by the United Kingdom's Vitec Group in 1995.
A camera stabilizer, or camera-stabilizing mount, is a device designed to hold a camera in a manner that prevents or compensates for unwanted camera movement, such as "camera shake".
Coptercam is a custom-built, remotely piloted aircraft used for aerial photography, filming and live broadcasting of video.
Freefly Systems is an American corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets camera movement systems and camera stabilizers used in cinematography including unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial cinematography, gimbals, and remote controlled vehicles. The company headquarters are in Woodinville, Washington.
Edmund DiGiulio was an American technical innovator who founded Cinema Products Corporation that developed the Steadicam, CP-16, and won multiple Academy Scientific and Technical Awards as well as the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his contributions to motion picture technology in 2001.
DJI Ronin is a series of motorized camera stabilization gimbals and digital movie cameras manufactured by DJI, a Chinese drone manufactuer.
