Motivation is the idea that something causes the camera to move; it doesn’t just randomly move.
One of most important skills modern directors and DP’s are required to master is moving the camera in a dynamic and engaging way.
Every camera move should be motivated to do something either by the action in front of it or the director’s will to reveal or conceal something, to walk you through a space, or to make you feel a certain emotion.
For a long time…the camera did not move. It was planted on a tripod and the action played out in front of it. After a while, it began to pan, tilt, dolly, zoom and crane. Now it Steadicams, slides, floats, MŌVIs, flies, goes handheld or can be mounted to any and every moving or stationary object. In CGI, virtual cameras can be moved without restriction. There are no limits to how or where you can shoot from. This freedom comes with a consequence. Just because you can…doesn’t mean you should. Camera movement is most effective when it serves the story and enhances the narrative. This is easier said then done. It requires thought and planning.
In narrative filmmaking, a key concept of camera movement is that it must be motivated. The movement should not just be for the sake of moving the camera; doing so usually means that the director is suffering from a lack of storytelling skills.
On the contrary, motivated camera movements (click here for a short list of possible camera movement motivations) show great storytelling and directorial skills. Pivot reveal in Moon directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son)is one those examples.
There is a scene, when Sam Bell phones home and talks to his daughter. He had already discovered that he is a clone. (Characters living lies is by the way reliable staple in science fiction (2). Movies like Alien, Island or newly Oblivion come to mind.) But when he sees the original Sam Bell, he breaks down. He realizes he never had a chance. The scene ends with his words: “I want to go home. I want to go home.”
Now, the camera pivots around the moon rover and reveals Earth. Both the moon rover and Earth have story function, so there is a clear motivation behind this camera movement.
Camera pivoting around certain object or character is a beautiful and high production value shot, but so much more powerful when it does more things at the same time. Here it revels the Earth in wide shot when he says “I want to go home”.
With the camera acting as the audience’s portal into the world that you are creating, it’s crucially important for the camera, and the way it moves, to enhance the story being told, rather than hinder it. While that might sound like a simple concept, in reality, it can be as complex as any cinematographer/director decides to make it. (2)
Perhaps the best theory behind moving the camera is that it should all be motivated by both the emotionality of the characters and the overall emotion and tone of the film itself. One of the most effective (and most used) examples of this type of camera movement is the slow push in on a dramatic or revealing moment in a scene. If done correctly, this can build an incredible amount of tension and mirror the swelling emotional experience of a character. Of course, that’s a bit of a generalization, especially considering that how you choose to move the camera is very much dependent on the specific context of your film.
All in all, moving the camera — as well as all cinematography-related decisions — should be based on the emotionality of your characters. However, the form that idea takes will differ from project to project.
“One of the steepest learning curves, going from photography to motion, other than really focusing on your storytelling and working with actors, really is how and why to move the camera, as well as how to move subject matter in front of it. Not to mention how you sequence a series of shots together and create continuous motion that makes it cut well. You find out that it’s an incredible art form that we’re all aware of passively because we all watch films and television.”
“Everybody, whether they know it or not, understands we what call “cinematic language,” because we’ve consumed it our entire lives. Now, when you find yourself in a director’s chair or as a DP, you realize just how much there is to know, and how much it is an art form, and that there’s a bunch of techniques that you need to be aware of. And if you really do take the time to study them, it will really bring a lot of life and energy into the videos that you shoot.”
“…even just handheld with a smartphone, there is a marked difference in what I would shoot today versus six years ago…”
“I use these same techniques when I shoot video of my kids. In other words, I move my smartphone in a similar way that I would a cinema camera. And even just handheld with a smartphone, there is a marked difference in what I would shoot today versus six years ago—just in the way that I move the camera and think about how it’s going to come together as a piece at the end.”
Vincent LaForet
RETRO: The Camera & MAD MEN from Jefferson Robbins on Vimeo.
In the final episode of BREAKING BAD…there are two shots in a pivotal scene that are perfect examples of how to use camera movement to amplify the narrative and surprise the audience. With one simple pan and one simple dolly…there is a set-up and shortly after, a dramatic pay-off. The scene at first appears to be just conveying information to the viewer. Then, with one pan and one dolly move…the scene is flipped on its head and is seen in a whole new light. This could only happen through writing, direction, set design and camera movement working in unison. A Steadicam or crane shot through a window could never have achieved the emotional impact of a simple pan and dolly.
BREAKING BAD – Motivated Camera Movement from Vashi Nedomansky on Vimeo.
As filmmakers, we should embrace new things and find creative solutions to express our individual selves. We should repurpose old things and incorporate them into our bag of tricks. I’ve learned more about filmmaking from old film books and biographies of filmmakers than anything else. As the Breaking Bad scene displays…the simplest of techniques can deliver the most complex and effective results. Master the simple first…and you will be miles ahead of most. What we should not do is become lemmings following each other over the cliff by following fads and gimmicks. Use whatever you have or can get a hold of…and make it work for you and your story.
Camera movement is motivated (among others) for the following reasons:
- To show action (movement of an actor or an object).
- To reveal character or location.
- To show character’s emotion and thoughts.
- When we are looking through the character’s POV.
Other reason might be linking two (or more) shot sizes together, but this to me is more or less a resulting side effect, rather than a motivation.
Sometimes camera moves just for the sake of the movement because it looks cool. But again, this is not a good enough motivation and usually, bothers me.
The most effective and most cinematic movements are when you combine several reasons or motivations for camera movement together, like in the movement in no. 6 in this beautiful analysis, pure cinema!