Camera Angles creating different sense of emotions

Like any good magic show, a film’s power often stems from elements the audience doesn’t notice. The one thing many people forget to pay attention to is camera movements and angles. In particular, how camera movements and angles make the audience feel.

Moving the camera helps create different emotions in a scene. I have noticed it in various movies, like an action scene where the camera moves around the subject smoothly is much different than “Bourne Identity,” where the camera was shaky and unstable. Obviously, the actor’s performance, the dress, and the lighting can contribute or create emotion as well, but movement is simply one of the ways to strengthen or create that emotion.

The first style I have experienced is when there’s a feeling of falling into the character’s world or being dropped into the scene. This is a crane shot which moves you into the story or the scene. La La Land director, Damien Chazelle, used a crane in a very classical sense during the opening sequence. It's a showstopper of an opening and this kind of shot is able to capture the location and the Los Angeles.

The other kind of style used is the slow panning which I have mostly noticed in horror movies. For me, a slow camera pan delays an action and builds anticipation. A fantastic example of this is in Paranormal Activity 3 when the babysitter sits alone in the kitchen. So, the family has been experiencing paranormal phenomena recently and the father attaches a camera to an oscillating fan. The deliberate and slow panning back and forth across the room I felt was a really effective way to build suspense. I KNEW I was going to see something but did not know what it would be...and had to wait for it to be revealed.

The last kind of camera shot I have noticed is a camera technique when there are certain moments in a film when the "vertigo effect" comes into play. This is called the dolly zoom. Also known as a zolly as this shot creates a sense of unease in the viewer, simulates a spatial warp, and can either shrink or extend distances based on the choice of direction. This style served as a visual motif in The lord of the rings (the fellowship of the rings).

Here, Frodo is in a close-up single. The movement here is rounded, rather than perfectly lateral. Here, camera movement is to push our eyes further down the road toward Frodo. It moves around with Frodo's face as he searches around for danger.

In the next shot, came my long awaited "vertigo shot."

So here the dolly zoom is utilized

The motion bears down on Frodo and shrinks the distance of the road.

This is the first time we get to see Frodo register the seriousness of his situation, and it is done through the use of a dolly zoom. It is used to represent supernatural forces throughout the franchise many times.

Camera movement, I believe can add or detract from the emotion the director wants to communicate. This is just a few of the many ways that emphasize emotions that we want to see in the scene.