The ever interesting follow shot

 Posted by on 6 June 2009  Everything Else
Jun 062009
 

Matt Zoller Seitz has a cool little examination of the film technique known as the follow shot.

Seitz explains that:

I love this shot because it’s neither first-person nor third; it makes you aware of a character’s presence within the movie’s physical world while also forcing identification with the character. I also love the sensation of momentum that following shots invariably summon. Because the camera is so close to the character(s) being followed, we feel that we’re physically attached to those characters, as if by an invisible guide wire, being towed through their world, sometimes keeping pace, other times losing them as they weave through hallways, down staircases or through smoke or fog.

He then provides a video montage he created of follow shots through film history. I personally don’t really like the shot that begins the video. It intends to make you feel as if you are looking through the character’s eyes, but generally leaves me feeling uncomfortable. It’s a neat look at how this certain technique has evolved.

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Amy Breen

  • http://www.absurdintellectual.com/ Grant Hamilton

    I like the following shot, personally, though it can be overused. What I really hate is the reverse following shot, where an actor wears the camera on a chest harness, pointing at their face. Filmmakers use it to show disorientation, during drugged or drunken behaviour, but in my opinion, it’s rarely used well, and it often feels heavy-handed.

    I do like actual reverse following shots, when the camera movies independently of the actor, facing them. That’s cool. I just don’t like the harness shots.