As its name implies, a dolly shot relies on a rolling camera dolly to create smooth action. Professional dollies use rollers that fit onto a track. This track can be laid on top of uneven terrain, such as dirt and rocks, to allow fluid movement. Low-budget filmmakers sometimes use improvised dollies to produce this shot, placing the camera on a wheelchair or cart.
Dolly shots are often used to show large amounts of continuous movement on film. A character running, for example, can be followed at full speed using a dolly shot, whereas he would quickly move off screen if a stationary shot was used. Dolly shots can also move with characters while maintaining a close-up, such as when the shot focuses on the face of an actor as he walks.
A handheld shot does not not require any complicated equipment, but instead relies on the camera operator to hold and steady the shot manually. While other camera movements work to make the shot as smooth as possible, a handheld shot uses the shaky image as an advantage. This jarring camera effect brings the audience into the action, and provides a realistic first-person view of the scene.
Many of the first handheld shots ever filmed took place in actual battle, as military journalists captured images of battle without the benefit of heavy equipment. This is one of the reasons that handheld camera shots are most commonly found in fast-paced action and war movies.
Crane shots, also called jib shots, use a long extended boom to hoist the camera high above a scene. Simple crane shots rely on a single operator to run the camera and move the boom, while more complex feature film crane shots use remote-controlled cameras attached to motorized jibs. In either case, capturing a unique perspective is the goal.
A crane shot is often used for establishing shots that provide a broad perspective on the scene, or to dramatize the isolation of an object or character. Crane shots can be used to provide a perspective that no person would be able to personally experience, such as perched above a racetrack as cars speed past.
A pan shot moves across an extended scene, pivoting to take in a wide view. Unlike a dolly shot, however, the camera itself does not travel during the shot, but instead simply rotates at a single point, like a tripod. This shot is often used to keep a moving object in the center of the frame.
Because only a tripod or other similar mount is needed, a pan shot can be set up in a very tight space where a crane or dolly would be unwieldy. An actor walking from one side of a small interior room, for example, is easy to capture with a camera pan, whereas other moving shots would require more space.