Although we are only about half-way through the term, and already, this course has allowed me to appreciate film in so many different ways.  I love how I am constantly learning new things and being exposed to films that I never would have watched otherwise.  Something more recent from the course material that I have found extremely interesting, and has forever changed the way I watch films, is the different types of camera movements and their effects.  Before this class, I never realized how important and strategic camera movements can really be.  Camera movement has the power to exponentially change the way that a spectator sees, feels, and experiences a scene.   For example, while doing the film analysis on the rubble sequence of the Naples Episode of the film Paisa, in the fourth shot of the scene, I studied the type of camera movement, how it works, and what its function is.  The two techniques that are used in this specific shot are tracking and panning.  As the camera tracks the character, Joe, it pans from right to left through the surroundings of the scene as he drunkenly walks towards pascal. This was such a simple movement, yet it caused me to feel much more connected to the film for many reasons.  It felt as if I was moving with the Joe, rather than just watching him move.  In addition, panning allows the viewer to see more of the scene itself as the camera moves and revealed more of the destroyed building that the character is walking alongside/towards.

Types of camera movements and their directions – Film Terminology handout.

The reason that this shot stuck out to me so much was that this was also the only time in this scene that the viewers got to see much more of the surroundings and how destroyed the entire landscape was.  I remember being shocked and slightly thrown off by the amount of rubble and ruin.  It really opened my eyes to the degree of how much Italy’s landscape was negatively affected by the war.  Most of the other shots are close-ups or medium shots so the viewer does not get to see much else other than the actors.  This camera movement was so simple, subtle, and is probably used very frequently and in many different ways throughout films.  I have probably seen this type of camera movement 1000 times during different films I have watched in my lifetime, however, it was not until this class that I realized the true effect it has and various purposes it can serve. Learning about these different types of camera movements has helped me to appreciate films more and forever changed the way that I watch them. Now, when I do recognize specific types of camera movements like tracking, panning, tilting, or craning (as pictured), I will view the scene in a different way and probably try to pick out why the filmmaker chose to shoot certain shots the way they did.  I had no idea that so much thought and hard work goes into shooting each scene and every little camera movement.  Overall, this experience has caused me to think more analytically about films and appreciate them in ways I never have before.