ABSTRACT
The coordination of camera movement with a lens’ ability to manipulate the apparent speed of a subject will add a level of difficulty to the execution of a shot, but it can also open up exciting visual possibilities for creating expressive and meaningful images. Panning with a subject moving perpendicularly to the camera with a telephoto lens, for instance, will make its motion look accelerated across the x-axis of the frame, but as the subject keeps moving away from the camera, it would gradually appear to decelerate as its path gets closer to the z-axis: it would seem to change speed without actually doing so. Notes on a Scandal, director Richard Eyre’s psychological thriller about the toxic relationship that develops between Barbara, a high school history teacher nearing retirement, and Sheba, a newly hired art teacher, expertly uses this technique to reflect a character’s haste during a pivotal scene.
