Tracking shot

DEFINITION

In video and cinematography, a film segment photographed with a camera moving steadily along a track or on a dolly, usually following a subject's movement. This term has been in use since about 1940. It's also called a trucking shot, or dollying with. A tracking shot should be compared to a zooming shot, but is different from it in significant though subtle ways. A tracking shot can be combined with other kinds of movement, as when the camera is attached to a crane, allowing it to rise or fall as it is tracking. When shooting while walking with a camera produces unwanted vibrations, a camera operator might employ a Steadicam to smooth out such jerkiness.Also see blow-up, close-up, depth of field, direction, enlarging, jump cut, field of view, pan, panning shot, straight, tilt, and wide-angle shot.