B1Follow shot / over-the-shoulder
put the audience in a character's footsteps toward something unknown
Tracking shot
A tracking shot moves alongside a moving subject at the same pace. What it's for: carry the audience through a world alongside a character.
B3Start and end
The prompt
Scene paragraph A crowded open-air market street on a bright afternoon, photoreal urban action. Colorful stalls of fruit and fabric with strings of lanterns line both sides, shoppers everywhere. A young Black woman bike courier with short braids, wearing a bright yellow rain jacket, black cargo pants and a small black backpack, carries a small brown package through the market. Live-action footage shot on 35mm film, real people, natural skin and textures.
Medium-wide tracking shot from a front three-quarter angle, the camera on a gimbal moving along with her at walking pace from the first second. 0–2s: she walks through the market at a steady pace. 2–4s: stalls and shoppers flow past on both sides while she holds her place in the frame. 4–6s: she catches a mango tossed to her by a vendor. 6–8s: she bites into it, smiling, still moving with the camera. Throughout: the camera matches her pace, one continuous take.
Reusable camera layer
- Open[SUBJECT] already moving, front three-quarter
- Movethe camera travels with them at their pace
- Developthe environment flows past while [SUBJECT] holds position in frame
- Landstill travelling together [PERFORMANCE]
Tip
Match the pace and let the world flow past. The subject holds her place in the frame while everything else moves.
Pairs with: Relief
More in this family
B1
B2Reverse tracking / walk-and-talk
keep faces readable during dialogue that has to move
B4NewCar mount
intimacy with a driver; conversations on the move