Shaky camera

Photograph of a tree, sun, and grass while deliberately shaking the camera

Shaky camera,[1] shaky cam,[2] jerky camera, queasy cam,[3] run-and-gun[4] or free camera[4] is a cinematographic technique where stable-image techniques are purposely dispensed with shaking. It is a hand-held camera, or given the appearance of being hand-held, and in many cases shots are limited to what one photographer could have accomplished with one camera. Shaky cam is often employed to give a film sequence an ad hoc, electronic news-gathering, or documentary film feel. It suggests unprepared, unrehearsed filming of reality, and can provide a sense of dynamics, immersion, instability or nervousness.[4] The technique can be used to give a pseudo-documentary or cinéma vérité appearance to a film.[5]

Too much shaky camera motion can make some viewers feel distracted, dizzy or sick.[6][7]

  1. ^ Mekas, Jonas. "A Note on the Shaky Camera." Film Culture, issues 24-27, 1962.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Muir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Queasy-cam face-off". www.theaustralian.com.au. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Bordwell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bailey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ebert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dellorto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).