Panning Shots

Panning shots usually either allow a panoramic view of the film world OR they focus on the speed of passing objects - as this shot type sees the camera stay on a fixed point, the panning arc creates a background that flashes past the lens, giving the movement the prime place in the 'frame'.

In this sequence from 'Bullitt" (1968), there are a variety of shots - the sequence is famous and contains elements of under-cranking - recording film too slowly so that on playback at normal frame rate the action appears speeded up/speedier. (Over-cranking is the opposite - recording frames too fast means on normal playback movement is slowed.) Obviously this technique is not used so often these days with so much work done in post-production.

There are some clunky edits here but in its time it was ground-breaking and set the bar for car chase sequences (and their editing) for many years. It's worth youtubing the 'French Connection' for the car chase sequence which came about 10 years later and is also considered to be groundbreaking. It's also worth watching to the end - although the sequence is a bit too protracted perhaps, the focus on the burning bodies in the car is quite graphic and still a bit shocking - a classic example of scopophilia (pleasure derived from looking) in the cinema.