Motivated Camera Movement

1. Escape Scene (Columbiana)

This is a pretty fast paced scene after about the first minute. Not only did they use quick cuts but they used a lot of camera movement to go along with it. In the begging dialogue we have a lot of slow pans and slow pushes. When the action commences they use a lot of panning tracking shots to follow Cataleya through the city streets.  I even spotted some dolly shots when she was running towards the camera. For the rooftop scenes I want to say they in cooperate flying shots, but they could be cranes. Either way I like the perspective it added. When the henchmen lost her on the roof, the swirling motion they did with the camera added to the confusion. The use of camera movement in this sequence really allows you to feel like you’re apart of the chase, which is awesome

2. Swimming with Sharks (Columbiana)

To start this scene I like the low angle using the lines for depth. Then it moves, literally, to a tracking shot of Cataleya “scaling” the glass. The high angle shot after that even continues to move with her before our low angles eventually catches up. They push in and they pull out sometimes so slowly you cane barely notice but I like the movement as opposed to none.

3. Cornucopia Bloodbath ( The Hunger Games)

This scene begins with a sequence of quick cuts to the pulsing of the countdown clock and a quick high angle pan to establish the scene. It then moves to another series of quick cuts and fast partial-body pans right before the longest establishing shot we’ll see for this scene. The erratic nature of the tracking pans and the handheld shots really adds to the chaos of the bloodbath. It looks as if there are some really fast crane moves in there as well to keep up with the sprinting. Around the: 57 mark I kind of like the bounce they did when the boy died and another girl appeared behind him. Also, When Katniss takes off into the woods I love how they weaved through the brush and trees. 

4. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot (Scandal)



I want to start by saying: I LOOOOOOVEEEEEEEE SCANDALLLL!!!! ALL HAIL OLIVIA POPE!! Definitely one of my favorite shows, obviously (Revenge is a very close second). Ok, what I love about Scandal is actually something Dr. Raimist pointed out in Advanced Lighting, something is always moving, if its not the camera its the way the actors are blocked to move across screen. There is seldom a still shot. Besides the storyline I realized after that lecture that I love the constant moving that's going on at all times. The fact that its mostly subtle and slow really appeals to me because it adds something more than a still shot can achieve on its own. I realness maybe. Around the 1:30 mark I like the sequence where Fitz begins to chase after Olivia. The shot starts relatively still and Olivia comes into frame and exits close to camera as Fitz is right on her heels. She walks out, he walking in. That was nice to me. But instead of letting him pass like she did they follow him to the corner where it then cuts to the tracking shot in the hallway. At this point she is hauling asssss as he closes in and the camera whips around just as abruptly as he snatches her into the hallway. The rest is history, but not for the books haha.