What is a tracking shot?
A tracking shot also known as a trucking or dolly shot, is when camera physically follows with a subject weather it be a human or a physical moving object. A tracking shot would be a scene, which would not require any editing as the tracking shots main purpose is to follow a moving object for a period of time without the use of stopping and starting, a tracking shot is one straight shot. For example;
Some of the most popular well-known Hollywood directors occasionally use tracking shots in their films such as: Quentin Tarantino’s – Kill Bill, Paul Thomas Anderson’s – Boogie Nights and Park Chan Wook’s – Old Boy.
Using a wheeled platform that a camera is mounted on and pushed whilst filming this would be an ideal way to record a tracking shot for a media student.
A tracking shot dates back to around 1914, a tracking shot was first introduced to the public in a popular film Cabiria Directed by Giovanni Pastrone as well as a few low budget English and American companies. Tracking shots can get mistaken for other shots such as a long take, long takes usually highlight the narrative structure of a scene, whereas; a tracking shot is usually used for action and visual scenes.
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