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As the name itself suggests, this equipment has a track and a platform on which the camera is mounted, see Fig. 2.12(f). It requires a great amount of practice to work on the track and trolley since speed and control of the camera are a crucial factor in executing track shots. Track and trolleys are used for truck shots like dollies.
Yet another important camera support system that has begun to find us¬age in video productions is the steadicam, see Fig. 2.12(g). This support is literally 'tied' to the cameraperson and has shock absorbers that steady the shot even when the cameraperson runs! The use of steadicams is most no¬table in thrillers where the protagonist (hero or heroine) is running among bushes. The camera follows the footsteps amid all the bushes, but seems to be steady.
Moving the camera
We have seen the basic camera movements in the previous chapter and the mounting equipment used to achieve these camera movements in this chapter. Let us briefly recap the movements and their aiding devices. The horizontal movement of the camera from left to right is called the pan, whereas the vertical movement of the camera up and down is called the tilt. Both involve moving only the camera, using the handle of the tripod head. Moving the camera along with its supporting device right or left is called the truck right or left. Here, the head is locked down so that the camera does not move separately from the tripod. When everything-the camera and the supporting device-moves in or out, the shot is called the dolly; an up-and-down movement is called the crane.
These five basic camera movements-pan, tilt, truck, dolly, and crane are the most frequently used ones. Others such as the arc are also used from time to time. Of course, we could make several combination movements; a camera can dolly in, pan left, and crane up-all at the same time.
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