How To Film Someone Walking

In every film you shall watch there is at least one scene where the director has decided to film a moving subject, this maybe at the begining of a film for an introduction, during the middle of the film where something exciting is happening like a carchase, or during the end or a film for a summary. Popular camera movements for this involves 'tracking', 'crab', 'dollying' and 'handheld'.

TRACKING/CRAB shots are where the camera is on railway tracks which it is able to move along. This type of camera movement is used in may scenarios but is a brilliant technique on capturing your moving subject walking as it allows a smooth and steady picture which allows the audience to travel along with your moving subject and feel involved.

DOLLY & HANDHELD camera movement are also very popular with filming a moving subject as it allows the camera man, and the director free travel and dont have to stick to a perticualr root. A 'dolly' is when the camera i attached to a tripod with wheels which allows the free movement. A handheld camera is in its name; its handheld! When attached to your hand, the camera is able to go wherever you are able to go. A great example of this is during the Paranormal Activitie films where the actors are holding the handheld camera treating it like a video camera to create that 'life like' scenario and adds tension to the film.

Certain camera angles are also very popular when filming someone walking, such as a wide shot. These can be used in chase scenes between, usually, two groups of people to set the scene of a bussy uranb setting, or a isolated rural area to set the location. Uaually after close ups or fast pace clips the film will nearly always resort back to the wide shot as to not cause confusion. Mid shot are very useful in determining who the character is within the shot, and used regualry as it would be pointless to film a scene without knowing who and what was gonig on. Mis shots are also very useful if a number of charaters are involved within scenario and its importand to determin which characters they are for the comsumer. Close up's may also be used in fast pace running scenes but there is no rule against using them in filming a gental stroll in the park. How to go about filming a moving object is all up to the directors creativitie.

Here is ar clip from 'Shaun of the Dead', a film by working title, where Shaun is walking from him home to the shops at the begining of the zombie apocalypse.



 

One little fraze many people within the film industry shall know is "DO NOT CROSS THE LINE", however like many rules, there is always someone who breaks them. 'Crossing the line' is a simple rule; when shooting a person walking the director only has a 180 degree angle of space in which to work and play around with. If the director crosses the line, it shall appear to the consumer that your moving subject has changed direction and may cause confusion. However, like i said many people break this rule as it is seen more to be a guidline, a idea which the majority of film directors stick to, however, if you know what you are doing and the state of confusion if purposeful, then crossing the line is completely acceptable.

When filming someone walking music has been a popular technique to add to the mood of the scene (usually in a light heartedm comedy/romcom). For example in "Staying Alive", the squal to "Saturday Night Fever", John Travolta works the song 'Staying Alive' by the Bees Gees. The Steady pace of the beat given the consumer a sense of the pace, and the type of mood this clip is supposed to be. A faster pace song would naturally mean a faster pace clip.



In summary, I am under the impressions that variety is the key to success to avoid bordem and gain entertainment for the consumer. When filming a different genre different skills and techniques are used, but there is no certain rule saying what you can and cant do. Its all about discovering what works well, and doesnt work well for you.