• Zoom
• Moving the Camera: Tracking
• Moving the Subject
• How to Make Friends and Influence People
• Complete the Action
• Experiment

Horrid multiple move

But, if there's a reason to move – a MOTIVATION – then move:

Motivated pan

This time the camera had a reason to move. It looks natural. It's what you might do with your eye. Sound familiar? Zooming is the same. Only move if there's a reason:

Gateway. Girl appears. Zoom in

Whatever you do with the camera – zoom, pan, cut, anything – it should be to add information to the viewer's experience. Here's a zoom out to show new information:

Woman, zoom out to see man

But a zoom out can imply that the girl isn't important - here's the same information shown in a different way:

Cut to man in car

Track into cat

Cat breakfast

Walking children

One thing to watch out for with any move – camera, lens or person – is to complete the move. Don't do this:

Track along display

This has a front and end – and a REASON to move:

Better track

The camera needn't just stick to tracking in, zooming in, going along lines of things. Often a complimentary move can look good:

Move to meet couple

And you can offer the viewer a puzzle, then reveal the answer:

Crash zoom

Where zooms and pans can come into their own for music pieces. The camera, if you like, is dancing along. Now there are almost no rules. Almost…

That sounds like a good idea; why don't you pick a short (SHORT) piece of music and try to illustrate it with pictures. The only limit is your imagination.