Fiction Adaptation - Mike Rymer Lecture

In a lecture with Mike Rymer, I got the opportunity to learn about new camera movements as well as develop on the camera skills I have already had the chance to learn. This included basic movements like panning and dollying to more complex shots such as the dolly zoom (also known as a 'zolly'). I was also given the opportunity to try out different camera apparatus, all that can help further enhance future projects as well as this one.

The first stage of the lecture was simply familiarising ourselves with the camera movements we already know. Though this did not require a practical session, it did help to learn what we already knew to recap before going onto newer, less familiar shot types. Before going into the practicals, we looked at how these techniques and movements such as the dolly zoom were implemented into productions such as the film Jaws and the TV series The Wire.

We were then put into groups of four to test out the equipment and see if we are able to replicate any of these shots. The equipment included a steadycam, a track and dolly, a jib and handheld. Examples of shot types to replicate included what's known as the 'Bay Shot' (after Michael Bay), the Dolly Zoom and the Crane Shot. We were also encouraged to create any other type of camera movement that we feel necessary.

Dolly Zoom

The dolly zoom, also known as a Zolly shot, is a technique where the camera is either dollies forwards, toward the subject, or backwards, away from the subject, while the camera zooms in the opposite direction. This is a very difficult technique to execute but when done correctly, the character in the frame will remain the same size while everything in the foreground and background either compresses or decompresses, depending on which direction the camera is traveling.

The technique was first used in the film Vertigo, (hence its other name, the Vertigo shot) where the character looks down a flight of stairs and sees the floor at the bottom seemingly grow further apart from himself, giving both the character and more importantly the audience a sense of vertigo. The example shown above is from a scene in Jaws. Here the shot is used to convey shock as apposed to fear. As Police Chief watches on as a shark attacks a young boy, the camera moves in while zooming out, giving the effect of shock.

The Bay Shot

The 360 shot, also known as the Bay shot, is typically used on the protagonist of a film or tv show. Here, a camera slowly spins around the character(s) as they come up from below the frame. This is a signature of Michael Bay films, probably even more so than explosions, fast-cuts and slow motion. The shot was originally used by Michael Bay in order to show both sides of the shootout without cutting away.

The Crane Shot

The crane shot is a technique in which a camera is placed on a crane like apparatus known as a jib and allows the camera to move all around, including up and down, reaching areas that no individual could manage in one motion. A crane's fluidity of movement and range of height can give an unusual omniscient perspective that is especially powerful if the audience knows something the character does not.