Sometimes you may have to record from a moving vehicle, such as a truck or a boat. For this type of assignment, the problem of holding the camera steady becomes even more difficult. In this situation you should handhold the camera, because a tripod transmits vibrations and movements from the vehicle to the camera. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet, and keep your knees flexed so you can sway and bend as the vehicle rolls, pitches, or bounces. Watch the horizon in the viewfinder. A tilted or wobbly horizon is very detracting when being viewed. When shooting from moving vehicles you should use a short focal-length lens and a fast shutter speed.

CAUTION

When shooting from a moving vehicle, you must follow all safety precautions. Use common sense, you do not want to jeopardize yourself or the video equipment.

PANNING

One of the most commonly abused motion-media techniques is panning. Panning is moving the camera from left to right or right to left. Moving it up or down is called tilting.

Only a few subjects require panning while you are actually taping. The use of panning can keep a moving procession, such as a marching unit in view, show a sweep of landscape, or show the relationship between objects or subjects.

There are definite and clear-cut rules and methods for panning. The very first is PAN ONLY WHEN PANNING IS NECESSARY. Panning a camera without a valid reason produces images that only irritate the viewer.

Making Pans

Making professional-quality pans takes practice and experience; however, you can easily gain this skill. One of the first and most important points to remember is to pan slowly and smoothly. Panning appears faster on the screen than it actually is; therefore, camera pans must be slow and consistent while maintaining a smooth, steady panning motion. When panning a moving object, you must keep pace with the object and allow for subject lead room. Panning too fast may make the viewer dizzy; therefore, it is advisable not to position the camera too close to the subject. The farther the subject is from the camera, the slower the pan required to follow the subject at a given speed.

Throughout the entire pan, the camera must be level without up and down wobbling. Whenever possible, rehearse the pan before you actually shoot. Know exactly where and when you want to start and end the pan. Practice the pan several times without recording on tape. Make the pan shot only after you can do it smoothly and accurately. The smoothest and best pans are made with the use of a tripod or other suitable camera support. Good handheld pans are always difficult to achieve.

Before you pan with a tripod, be sure the camera is absolutely level. Check the camera for level throughout the entire arc of the pan with a spirit bubble level located on top of the tripod head.

To produce better pan shots, position yourself comfortably for the end of the pan. Then, keeping your feet in this position, wind yourself around to the start pan position. As the pan progresses, "unwind" into the most comfortable position for a smooth stop. When using a tripod, be careful not to bump into the tripod as you are shooting.

Tilting the Camera

Moving a camera up and down vertically is called tilting. Tilting is useful when you want to photograph tall structures in one shot or to follow action, such as a parachute jumper.

Most of the rules that apply to horizontal panning apply equally well to tilting. As with horizontal panning, tilting should be used only when stationary shots cannot accomplish the desired effect.

A tilt should be made slowly and smoothly. Know where and when you want to start and end the tilt. Usually, you start and end a tilt with a stationary shot.

To photograph a tall building or object, you should normally start the tilt at the bottom and move up. This is the way people naturally look at tall objects. There may be times, however, when you may start a tilt at the top and move down; for example, you might show flames coming out from the top-floor windows of a skyscraper, then tilt down to show the fire trucks arriving. When you are following action with a tilt, the type of action determines the direction of tilt. Also, as with a horizontal pan, you should show enough of the surrounding area so the audience can associate the subject with its location.