This week in our weekly production video tips, we’re talking about the Selfie Tracking Shot.
OK, admittedly, that’s not a technical term. But you get the idea; the camera sits close to the actor’s face and follows their movement. The desired effect is to have the actor still in the screen, while the background moves around them.
How’s it done? It’s a pretty simple method – you strap the camera onto your actor using a rig. The complexity of these rigs can be varied, according to what sort of shot you need. Some directors want realistic shots that wobble as the actor moves; these shots require pretty counterweight rigs, or even a rig carried by the actor themselves (as we do with the Fig Rig in the video below). Other directors want a much smoother shot; this can be achieved using a steadycam system, or by using Spike Lee’s trick of placing the actor on a dolly with the camera, making them seem as though they’re floating.
Check out our video to see the Selfie Tracking Shot in action
Brett Welcher was a student at Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY, USA) where studied Public Relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He is interned at the Raindance Film Festival the summer or 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed his time working with professionals and learning about different aspects of the film industry. In the fall of 2007 Brett returned to the States where he will be finishing his last year in school.
Since then we have lost touch and found this excellent article in the archives. Brett – if you see this, get in touch! We miss you!
