Following the action

What is it?

Following the action refers to when the film is shot following the subject. There is usually a coherent transition between the movements shot. The action is followed from different angles.

How has it developed?

Initially, films such as Robert Paul’s ‘Come Along, Do!’ were shot from one angle. But as editing and camera’s developed, filming progressed from stationery shots to different movement and angles. This was enabled through filming techniques such as a dolly or tracking shot. 

Are they still relevant?

This is perhaps one of the most used techniques in filming to this date. From action movies such as ‘White House Down’ to romance flicks such as ‘The Notebook’, following the action has being the foundation of narration in film. With advanced camera equipment such as dollies, this technique is used to portray the emotion and development in a film. In-fact almost every movie that’s now produced uses the following the action technique. 

Pioneers 

Once again Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘Vertigo’ is what made this technique famous. Another notable film that used following the action was ‘/life of an American Fireman’ by Edwin S. Porter.