Why do a lot of movies have this camera movement?

[pulpfiction007]

It seems to me like LA itself is a big character in Heat, and this emphasizes the physical quality of it, the horizontal nature of the city, as opposed to the verticality of NYC, for example.

Totally agree, just like in To Live and Die in LA....the city IS a seductive and dangerous character. I thought the slide was a nice move in that shot. I do like films with an economical approach to camera moves though....unless, like at the end in the robbery scene of Heat, the scene calls for a more rapid and varied style.

Movies with that hyper style all the way through just lose me, I try to avoid those kinds of movies at all cost.

 

[nycineaste]

Disclaimer: I'm no pro just a brainy guy.......I don't believe camera moves must have "meanings". Of course, ideally they punctuate dramatic moments in the movie and are appropriate to the story context, but its not some rule that they must have some story motivation.... When you see an "unmotivated" camera movement, it can be viewed as a component of the cinematographic principle of creating DEPTH in the image. Part of the job of cinematography is to create the illusion of 3D space and make the viewer forget they are watching a 2D flat image, and dramatically appropriate dolly moves do this, by pulling the viewer into the physical space of the story world. Now, that said, there are directors whose use of camera movement is so out-of the bounds of good taste and judgment that they should have their dollies and cranes taken away, but that's the other end of the spectrum.

PS: Doesnt mean I agree with your DP, though. Theres tons of way to get depth other than camera moves (foreground, camera angle), tons of other ways to make a movie look "unproffesional".

 

[cyclone]

Tension.

 

[jcarrig]

When I see an unmotivated camera move, I don't think 'this film has production values', i think 'this is amateur storytelling, and that camera movement distracted from what this scene is really about.' I disagree with nycineaste saying camera movements don't have to have meanings. They inherently do have 'meaning', and if the meaning isn't premeditated then the move will create it's own meaning, and if that meaning doesn't align with the content of the scene, then the audience will likely think it is either comedic, melodramatic, or just bad filmmaking.