Chapter 8 - Panning

Caution! Panning Ahead! | The “When” of Punning | The “How” of Panning | Other Factors | Plan Your pans | Caution Again! | Summary

Caution! Panning Ahead!

We come now to the subject of panning, which we have previously (in connection with its usefulness in the reestab­lishing shot) mentioned as a photographic "hot potato." We approach it in a hesitant, reluctant manner because, like the fabled jewel of India whose curse brought both pleasure and pain to its possessor, the pan can both enrich a movie and create a lot of grief for the unwary cameraman.

Indiscriminate panning is the most common fault of the non-professional photographer. It arises from the utterly mis­taken fancy that a motion picture is most truly moving when the camera itself is in motion; that if the ball in a tennis game is jumping back and forth across the net, the camera must jump too.

This fallacy has caused many horrible mistakes to be com­mitted in the name of panning. Audiences pay for them in eyesore and irritation. You may have a fine time making your pan, but if it bothers your audience, your reputation as a cameraman is worth less than a piece of light-struck film.

Like drinking for some people, panning is best when done least. However, a pan does have its uses in providing variety

and excitement, and there are certain times when it is just about compulsory. That phrase "certain times" is most im­portant. You must learn the right occasion for the pan—and the right way of doing it. So. if you must gratify that over­powering temptation to pan, hold back until you learn the principles of when and how.

The "When" Of   Panning

Fanning is rightly used to follow action. It is a natural type of shot for filming a horse race or catching Junior as he pedals down tin1 sidewalk on his tricycle. These sequences could be covered—in most cases—by pulling back to a long shot in­stead of by panning. But the shots—especially that of the gal­loping ponies—would be less effective on-screen. And if you wanted a closeup while your subject was in motion you would naturally pan. Following action is the big reason for panning.

In photographing a static .scene, where there is no move­ment in or out of the frame, panning is only rarely justified. There are certain specialized cases. Scenic panning, for in­stance, can be excused when the subject is of such epic dimen­sions-New York harbor or the Grand Canyon—that only the full sweep of the pan can do it justice.

Panning would be appropriate to show the intricate indus­trial relationship of the parts of an assembly line in an indus­trial plant, but in such a ease moving objects or workers would probably give you a chance to pan by follow- ing action—always more desirable  than panning a static subject.

If. also, you wish to emphasize the height of a building, you can pan slowly from the foundation up to the top. Take note that it is the length of the pan. not the angle, that emphasizes the  height  of   the building.

When you are photographing scenery from a moving train or boat, panning is quite automatic, since you yourself are moving. In case you want to swing your camera in a true pan. you should do so from forward (that is. from the direction of travel I back, so that your pan moves in the same direction in which the scenery appears to be traveling.

It may be readily seen from these specialized cases where panning a static scene is justified, that the cameraman has a very definite continuity idea in mind. Panning a static scene should never be done just because you don't want to back off tar enough to cover the whole scene in one or more long shots.

The "How" Of Panning

No pan. no matter how justifiable or effective in theory, is any good it badly done. Far hotter than a had pan is no pan at all since a jerks, wavering, wildly racing shot will kill all interest in your picture.

The physical elements of a good pan are steadiness, even­ness, slowness.

They must be carefully studied and practiced. especially when shooting static subjects where the lack of these qualities becomes distressingly noticeable. A correctly used tripod will ensure these qualities. For the many pans that you may have to make with your camera held only in your hands, a good stance is all-important.

The stance tor making a hand-held pan is identical with the stance for making any hand-held shot. Get a solid base, your feet firmly planted on the ground, spread apart, with your weight slightly forward. Either foot may be advanced for comfort. Ideally, your feet should be placed so as to point in the direction the pan is expected to end.

Camera pressed against   forehead   or cheeks and held firmly   Arms  close   to   body,   elbows against   sides.

Swing from  head  &  shoulders     down through hips and ankles   Feet planted firmly on ground, pointed   in   direction  of  where  pan   is  to   end.

Next, give the camera triangular support by holding your arms close to your body, digging your elbows into your stomach, and pressing the camera against your forehead and cheek. Not even camera permits the use of both arms and elbows this way—but one is always better than none.

When panning, swing not just from your head and shoulders, but all the way down, from hips and ankles. If a tripod is used, you must maintain a firm grip on the camera and your body should swivel as you follow the pan.

Evenness and slowness are not always possible when following action with a pan. In such shots as a bucking bronco a) a rodeo, or the antics of the family dog as he plays with a ball. you have to pan fast or slow, change your rate of speed according to the behavior of your moving subject. Your audi­ence will not be upset, because its attention is focused on the action and it has no chance to think of anything else. There is. however, no excuse for lack of steadiness in a pan. regardless of action or the absence of it. Steadiness is a "must" quality in panning. If you can't make a steady pan. don't pan. don't!

A pan must be level throughout, with neither a sideways nor an up-or-down movement at any point in the film, otherwise your audience will find itself looking cockeyed at the subject matter. You may have to pan up (this is known as "tilting") with your camera if you follow an airplane taking off; but here the action accounts for the tilt and the audience is not made conscious of any bad camera handling on your part.

An even, constant rate of panning is most important for smoothness. Irregularities in the rate of panning will cause your picture to move across the screen in jerks and will im­mediately distract the audience from the action to the fail­ings of the cameraman. Even if. when following action, you cannot maintain a constant rate of movement, you can speed it up or slow it down smoothly. If the action—such as the play­ful dog—stops momentarily, then you stop panning momen­tarily; but there is no excuse for lack of smoothness when the subject is in motion. Like steadiness, smoothness is a "must" quality in the pan. Make your pans smooth!

No matter how steady, even, or smooth a pan may be when shooting a static scene, it will be disastrous if it is not made slowly. II your subject is not in motion and you pan it quickly. il  will be blurred. Of all the mechanical errors in panning, a fast pan. with resultant blurring of the scene, is the most com­mon. Over-fast pans arc myriad; an over-slow pan is a rarity indeed. Don't trust the judgment ot your eye on the speed of a pan. No matter how slow you judge it to be, it will invariably appear taster on the screen. So when you '-let set to make your pan at the slowest speed you consider desirable, just lean over backward and deliberately make it even slower.

Furthermore, the apparent speed of the pan is very definite­ly affected by the distance between the camera and the subject. II possible, avoid panning a moving subject when it is too close to the camera, tor only the most precise camera handling will keep the picture From Bashing by on the screen. For the same reason, don't pan with a telephoto lens unless following action, for even the slowest speed will cause your scene to race by in a blurred cyclorama.

The physical qualities of a good pan are plainly not some­thing to be picked up in a moment. Practice is essential. A use­ful habit to get into is to "dry run your pan—to rehearse. without pressing the button, the movement your camera will make in the air. Figure how your pan will end, and adjust the preceding motion to that.

Other Factors

Then- are other Factors which improve a well-made pan. The human eye usually looks at a scene from left to right, or from the bottom up. Pan and tilt that way, when the action allows. Of course, following action such as kids romping in a playground will cause you to switch direction. Hut when your audience is absorbed in the action, it will not be distracted by this fact By all means avoid "whitewashing" a static scene—slapping your camera back and forth as though you were using a paint­brush.

It is desirable when panning action to precede the actual pan with a brief, non-pan shot of the subject, and to follow up the pan immediately with a similar shot of the first scene, be­fore stopping the camera. Thus if Betty runs after a ball, try to open the shooting with a steady, non-pan shot as she starts her sprint; pan her over to where she retrieves the ball; and end the sequence with another non-pan shot. These "before-and-after" non-pan shots give your audience a chance to see what is going on before the camera moves, and to orient itself again to the scene that follows the completion of the pan.

It is jarring to the audience to be switched abruptly from a still to an action pan or from an action pan to a still scene. But of the two faults, the latter is much worse and less excusable. Main times it is impossible to inaugurate an action pan with a non-pan shot. This especially holds true when the action is un­controlled—in a horse race or track meet, for instance, where your subjects are in high speed all the time. It is difficult to find an excuse, however, for not holding your camera motion­less at the end of the pan. Either your subject will come to rest, or you can simply stop the pan and allow the action to more out of the frame while you hold your camera immobile. It is extremely upsetting to the audience to see something that is in full motion on the screen abruptly cut off in mid-ac­tion. Give action a clean exit, so that it disappears logically.

Even if an obstruction, such as a football spectator jumping up and down while you're panning a touchdown dash, mo­mentarily cuts off your view, always follow through on your action: keep right on panning so that you will pick up the action again beyond the obstruction and hold it until it moves out of the frame.

This point is so important that we repeat: Avoid cutting from (in action pan to a still scene. Let your action move out ot the frame. You’ve surely seen many a good newsreel sequence of a horse race where the cameraman (stationed at the finish line) picked up the ponies in motion at the far end of the straightaway, panned them until they moved up opposite to him. held the camera steady as they crossed the finish line. then stopped it only  after they  had moved out of the frame.

Then you get down to editing your film, you will thank yourself profusely for having followed through with your camera and allowed the action to move cleanly out of the frame.

Plan your Pans

As you pan action closer to you, it will naturally become larger, thus commanding more of your audiences attention. As you pan action away from you, it grows smaller, and there is an inevitable—if relatively slight—drop in audience interest. Therefore. try to plan your pans so that they reach their cli­max when the action fills the screen. Conversely, never—if you can help it—begin a pan at a ninety-degree angle to your sub­ject. Start it from a narrow, acute angle.

A pan has "buildup quality. It should gain in interest as it moves along and its conclusion should be its high point, its peak of action and excitement. Otherwise your audience will be let down. A racing pan is much more exciting if it picks up the horses at the beginning ot the home stretch and reaches its climax as they cross the finish line, than if it starts with the finish of the race and follows through on the horses as they slow  down and stop!
One criminal perversion of the pan is to use it just to cover a lot of ground while shifting from one point of interest to another—a mistake very often made in a scenic pan. Don't be led astray by the fallacy that this is the way the human eye operates when it looks from one thing to another. The eye does not truly pan—it jumps from one scene to another, skip­ping whatever is uninteresting during the jump. While it is in motion, it sees nothing it doesn't want to see. Lot your glance shift from one corner to another of a strange room and try to remember just what you have seen in between!

Caution Again!

We have "ranted the good points, the special usefulness of the pan. We endorse it with reluctance because, as this chapter has made plain, a well-made, well-thought-out pan is no easy matter. We reiterate: Better no pan at all than a bad pan. Remember, no picture ever suffered from a lack ot pans as long as the action could be covered Otherwise. And there are mighty few instances where the action could notbe covered otherwise.

Have pity on your audience—approach the pan with caution and respect. Use it sparingly—no matter how well you do it.

Summary

The pan is a photographic hot potato whose indiscrim­inate, incorrect use is the most common fault ot cameramen and an acute grievance of eyesore audiences.

Panning does have its specialized uses, but the camera­man should very carefully learn when and how.

The when of panning applies to following action or to photographing certain static' scenes where the pan can make clearer either size or the relationship of parts.

The how of panning requires steadiness of stance, keep­ing the camera level, moving it smoothly, evenly, and slowly. A pan is usually made from left to right, a "tilt" from bottom to top.

Hold the camera steady for a moment before beginning and after ending a pan. If the action is not to be followed through, let it go cleanly out of the frame before stopping the camera.

Avoid switching from an action pan to a still scene.

The end of the pan is the climax of subject movement. It should also be the climax of interest. If possible, shoot the pan from the position where it will reach its climax. Make the beginning from an acute angle and pan it through until it fills the frame.

Avoid whitewashing.

Do not pan merely to avoid moving back far enough to get all the subject in the frame with a single long shot.

A pan is rarely indispensable to a picture and a bad pan is much worse than no pan at all.

Avoid panning unless following action.

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