Grammar of the Shot, 2nd Edition

Cranes and Such

Sometimes your motion picture project calls for a grand, sweeping shot of an exterior location. A camera at ground level, regardless of how wide your lens, just cannot encompass as broad a section of your film space as you would like to see. This is where the use of cranes comes in. Much like large cranes allow construction equipment to work up high, cranes employed for film use allow the camera to work up high. There are many different types and sizes of cranes, but the general idea is to lift the camera (and often the camera operator as well) up in the air over the set or location to achieve a very high angle view down on the action. Many crane-like devices called jibs also have the ability to “boom” the camera from ground level ...