Let's get something straight, just because a shot looks epic as an individual clip doesn't mean it
will automatically make your story better Youtube is flooded with videos about cinematic gimbal
moves but these shots quickly lose value if you don't consider the context behind the movement
in this video i'm going to explain the motivation behind the five most popular camera movements on
the gimbal instead of showing you how to do them i'm going to tell you why and when to use them
Camera movement can be broken down into two basic categories motivated and unmotivated Motivated
movement is when the camera has a reason to move for example when you're following or
tracking a subject in your frame the viewer is so focused on the movement of the subject that
they're concentrating less on the camera as long as the camera keeps up the consistency of movement
With unmotivated movement the camera doesn't need a reason to move for example your subject
might be stationary but how it moves can make your shot more dynamic or create a certain feeling but
it can also be a distraction when you do an unmotivated gimbal movement out of context it
quickly draws attention to the camera instead of what's happening in the frame now let's dig into
those movements Number one the orbit even though orbit technically means going around your subject
there are very few cases where i actually do a full wrap around a half orbit is usually enough
and it's easier to get a consistent shot because if your movement isn't smooth throughout the shot
loses power immediately and draws attention to the camera the three WHY's for doing the shot
number one to reveal the environment around your character number two to show their experience of
the environment and three as a hero shot WHEN this is one of those movements that you want to save
for the right time and just like slow motion it becomes stale very quickly if you overdo it your
best moment is when your music reaches a climax of some sort for example in a travel film that
moment the character arrives at the grand view or in a documentary when your character finally gets
her pilot's license The only time i use a wider lens is if the focus is more on the surroundings
but the moment we focus on the character i prefer a 35 millimeter and up in order to get more of the
parallax effect with the background to amplify the hero effect make sure you shoot from a lower angle
since it makes your character appear bigger The secret to an epic orbit shot is to move the camera
opposite to the movement of your character when i move the camera in the same direction something
just feels off but the moment i switch it around it feels more dynamic Number two the tracking shot
WHY this motivated movement is a great way to show progression as your subject travels from one scene
to the next WHEN by making the viewer part of the journey it creates a sense of connection
with your character and it's also a great way to show lots of your environment in a single
take in order to really sell the movement it's crucial to keep the framing and speed constant
as you move with your subject because the moment you miss a beat the shot starts to distract
a good way to ensure a smooth tracking shot is to give your talent a head start and as you catch up
you can ease into the required speed for a more consistent frame tracking shots look amazing
when you have something in the foreground because these elements create more depth and enhances the
feeling of movement if you don't have anything in the foreground you can go low and the ground
itself will act as a foreground you can spice it up even more by having something move in
the opposite direction or by compressing the frame with a longer lens Number three
the forward push WHY the purpose of this shot is either to take you closer to your next frame
or to stress the importance of a subject or emotion of a character pushing forward
here makes you feel like you're walking into the quarrel and all of a sudden you're in the middle
of an argument the cut after the forward push is closing because the camera brought us closer
this intentional movement helps your video to flow between frames also illustrated in this
example pushing forward with a wider lens with the next cut taking us closer to the waterfall
but in this case there's a slight pullback because the cut after goes back to wide so in essence the
movements took me from pushing forward into a close-up with a close-up going backwards
into a wide a mistake would be to pull back the camera on the wide and then cut to a close-up
pushing forward on a stationary character can put the emphasis on their emotions but it's also a
great way to establish importance combine it with a follow shot and in the beginning the focus is
on where the character is in the environment but as we get closer we're starting to experience the
environment with the character as if we're looking over his shoulder Number four the pullback the
biggest reason you would want to do this shot is to reveal something or someone important ideally
something that's not in the frame when you start the movement whether it's your character the
surroundings or an important object ask yourself who or what am i introducing into the frame with
a character the shot will usually start with a focus on the surroundings but as your character
walks into the frame the focus is on there the pullback can also be used to end the scene or to
act as a transition into the next scene like in my short film time to move on where i'm leaving
the room and the transition to the next cut also a pullback although this shot was filmed hand out
the principle is still the same i'm pulling back to reveal an important character in the frame
a crucial part in the story number five the crane shot WHY a crane shot is a great way to establish
a location and give context of the surroundings before jumping into a bunch of close-ups
when generally this shot is better utilised at the beginning or ending of a scene and not so much in
the middle i used to do this shot in the middle of my b-roll sequences but over time it just started
feeling unnatural to me in the first sequence i'm doing a crane shot with the hopes of revealing
the waterfall but it just didn't feel right to me so i decided to go for a forward push instead and
now there's a lot more energy and it feels like we're experiencing the waterfall with our subject
note how i'm also cutting from the wide forward push to a medium forward push and then to a
close-up strengthening my point from earlier on gimbals are pretty amazing and it's so easy
to get a cool shot these days don't just do a movement because it looks cool think about the
shot and be intentional in what you're trying to communicate this video is proudly brought
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sign up for a free membership thanks so much for watching and i'll see you in the next one