Greatest tracking shot of all time

Two words. Sergio Leone.

Once upon a time in the west where the camera tracks along the train.

If this were a bet, you'd owe me some money.

Leone.
DePalma.
Scorcese.

Somewhere down the road is Branagh. One tracking shot vs careers built on legendary ones. Branagh's a good actor, the directing is hit or miss.

Hallway fight in Oldboy.

The opening of It's a Wonderful Life, where the camera tracks and then pushes in on the town sign.

The Vertigo shot is probably the most famous and copied.

This one is pretty memorable:

Picture's too dark, man.

I can't see shit. I think it's of a guy running towards a fence. Can't ID the flick it's from.

Thanks, I should've known that.

It's Chrissie running on the beach (with a fence in the background) -- from the opening of "Jaws".

OH! Damn. I'm not catching shit today.

Hell, I need to go to sleep.

Hands down, the most impressive tracking shot is RUSSIAN ARK.

However, my favorites will continue to be:

Following Lawrence through the desert in Lawrence of Arabia
Watching and following Belloq in the morning as he discovers Indy's digging place in Raiders.
The Opening Sequence of Touch Of Evil
Amazing table tracking shots of Ingrid Bergman (and her feet) in Under Capricorn
Most of Rope
Towards the side of the car and most of the car tracking shots in Sugarland Express
Moving with Antoine at the beach in Les Quatre Cent Coups
Moving with that dastardly Jack Palance and his red coupe in Le Mepris.
Following Norma Desmond out of her room in Sunset Blvd.

In Oldboy where the camera tracks across the table. It's actually moving forward but it's still an amazing shot.

The opening 3 minutes of Contact, condensed here (by me) into 6 seconds:

final shot of miller's crossing

Opening shot of The Player.

The problem with choosing Russian Ark isn't that it isn't solely a tracking a shot. It's entirely Steadicam with the op hoping onto a dolly at occasional moments.

Just as the shot in The Player isn't a tracking shot, it's a Steadicam shot.

And I completely forgot the shot in Raiders and Jaws! Good catch!

I'm going to add to the love for "Henry V", one of my favorite films. Richard hit it pretty much right on the head about how it wraps up all the subplots. Plus Branagh's acting never lets up, he stays as detailed and compelling in that huge frame as he does throughout the film. And don't forget Patrick Doyle's great hymn that makes it all come together.

Ehhh, you guys are too picky with this. There weren't any limitations listed here, everyone is supposed to put their favorite. If you are going to explain why each one that isn't the "right one" is wrong, this isn't going to be any fun.

It's not about limitations. It's about what is technically a tracking shot. If you have to use special effects or switch cameras...it's not a tracking shot.

I don't see how CGI is automatically discounted. It is tracking backwards, so it is still a tracking shot, there just aren't any dolly tracks. And any shot that tracks with the actors or through a scene can be considered a tracking shot. It doesn't have to be limited to only dolly or crane work, i.e. Danny riding through the hotel in The Shining, following Jimmy & Karen through the kitchen and into the restaurant in GoodFellas. But if someone wants to be really specific about what they define a tracking shot to be, then go ahead, and we can conform to that.

the tracking shot of Samuel L Jackson loading Chris Rock in his car and then driving off, turning into the patch of land and shooting him in Jackie Brown.

He loaded Chris Tucker into the car. And, ironically enough, I wouldn't call that a tracking shot. That is a crane move. A tracking shot follows the action on a horizontal plane, either beside or behind or in front of.

I love when film geeks with all the cedibility of Comic Book Guy come into discussions and try to flex their knowledge about the technical aspects of filmmaking. I have always thought of a tracking shot as a generic term for any continuous moving shot without a visible cut... it doesn't matter if they used a crane or steadicam or a dolly or computer trickery. technically they may all be different but aesthetically they share enough common traits to be discussed together.

Actually, it is very important. A tracking shot can move in and out, or side to side. What makes it a tracking shot is if it is accomplished on a dolly that rides either on rails or rubber wheels. If we were just listing off moving shots, then I wouldn't care. However, the care and time that goes into accomplishing a dolly shot is different (and greater) than one that has to go into a Steadicam move or a Technocrane move.

I assumed we were giving credit to that, not just any shot that moved. And my credibility might be less than that of the Comic Book Guy but you're still wrong about what a tracking shot is...

I'm not worried about what constitutes a textbook verified tracking shot... but rather the types of shots that apply for the purposes of this discussion (which, incidentally isn't simply any shot that moves.)

The shots people like to talk about are the long moving takes without a visible cut. Yes, part of the reason they're worth talking about is the technical virtuosity of it, but it's the artistry that makes the shot memorable. All of the shots mentioned in this thread have something in common that's far more vital than the gear used to achieve them. That is the quintessential cinematic beauty of a moving--moving image, long sustained, that makes you feel like you're inside a different world.

First of all, I can point to many shots that aren't at all sustained that are amazing tracking shots. When Spielberg pushes in on Indy as he is telling the Nazis that they'll never find Marcus Brody is fantastic in it's immediacy (and subsequent comedy when they cut to Brody asking if anyone speaks his languages) and it covers less than ten feet.

I took the title of the thread and Richard's first post at face value... I thought he wanted tracking shots.

Also, how do tracking shots make you feel like you are in a different world? If anything, moving the camera with the subject heightens the reality of a moment. Going by your definition, where anything that moves is a tracking shot, the handheld camera work of cinema verite was done to heighten the gritty, real-worldness of the movies. The early cinema, with its use of proscenium-like framing, offers more in terms of a glimpse into a different world.

"Best. Post. Ever."

the world the film is trying to portray... as opposed to the darkened theater you're sitting in. could be gritty and reflective of what's outside, could be fanciful and imaginative. but you're entitled to set the parameters of what you want to discuss however you want. I'm just saying people have brought up some great shots in this thread that have things in common far more vital to me personally than how the filmmaker accomplished it. by all means get into the technical minutiae all you want. I may learn something. still isn't going to keep me from relating a crane shot, to a steadicam shot, to a true tracking shot... because all three of those share elements that make me think of them together.

[QUOTE=thechairmanofthebored]I love when film geeks with all the credibility of Comic Book Guy come into discussions and try to flex their knowledge about the technical aspects of filmmaking.[QUOTE]


I may not be a pro, but speaking as someone who has spent some time setting up said shots and executing them...you can just go fuck yourself. When, you've gone through the fucking hellish time spent making sure that said shot is said shot, then you can feel free to talk some shit.

Until then, piss off.

OK, so the opening of Contact may or may not be a tracking shot, but does anyone else think it looks a LOT similar to the ending shot of Men In Black? Minus the alien playing marbles with galaxies of course.

It seems similar. Maybe ILM worked on both shots at roughly the same time.

They are both roughly based on a film called "Powers of Ten" made by Charles and Ray Eames, where you zoom back by a power of ten every ten seconds, starting inside an atom and ending up in deep space.

[QUOTE=Anderson][QUOTE=thechairmanofthebored]I love when film geeks with all the credibility of Comic Book Guy come into discussions and try to flex their knowledge about the technical aspects of filmmaking. I'm very happy you have the hard earned satisfaction of a job well done, sir. I understand, you've been in the trenches. You've done the work. And I am nothing but thankful there are people out there like you who are willing to put it on the line for film fans like me.

I've heard of Powers of Ten. Never seen it, though.

Here is an animation of something like it, so you get an idea.

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/j...su/powersof10/

see, and I was wondering if it was Rock or Tucker but i couldn't be bothered to look it up...

[QUOTE=Yando]Hands down, the most impressive tracking shot is RUSSIAN ARK.

QUOTE]


it's so boring, though, once you get past the novelty of its length.

Russian Ark didn't have CGI did it? I had never heard that. Somebody set me straight!

"And Then He Kissed Me," Goodfellas.

All other answers are incorrect.

How about Kill Bill, Vol.1 in the House of Blue Leaves?

Shaun Of The Dead

I've only seen it once. but isn't the Hungover-and-Going-to-the-shops-oblivious-to-zombies-everywhere sequence all one shot??!!

I was too busy laughing my guts out at the time, but after the movie I remember thinking "was that all one shot"????

That's my recent favourite. (but was it steadicam??)

/matt

GOODFELLAS

When Henry Hill takes Karen to the Copacabana.
"["Then He Kissed Me," performed by The Crystals.] As they make their way into the famed Copacabana club, the camera follows behind them - it is a three minute, non-stop, unedited take/tracking shot with mobster-in-training Henry greasing the portals at each step with $20 bills as they enter the circuitous world. The camera hovers just over their shoulders as they arrive at the front of the club, have their car attended by a valet, bypass the long line into the entrance by taking a side entryway, wind through hallways and then into the bustling kitchen area with cooks and helpers, pass other patrons waiting inside, and are set-up by the Copa Captain at a prime, front-row table (hastily resurrected out of nowhere and set up especially for them at ringside).

Karen is naively wide-eyed and impressed by his endless cash supply, his familiarity with everyone and his innumerable friends (one group sends over champagne), his power, and his slick waggering style: "You gave them twenty dollars each."


Karen: What do you do?
Henry: I'm in construction.
Karen: (She feels the softness of his hands) They don't feel like you're in construction.
Henry: Ah, I'm a union delegate. "

A personal favourite...really conveys the feeling of being a 'minor deiity' to this young man, which I don't think could of been achieved by lots of editing.

Definitely adds to the film, and is not just shoved in on a whim.

[Edit : damn, just saw Rath's post...yet, glad I'm not alone.]

Graham, if you are going to cut and paste someone else's write up, at least note where you got it from, out of courtesy.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't qualify but I'll give it a nod anyway, the shot which follows Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung through the hospital shoot-out in Hard Boiled which even follows them as they shoot and jump everywhere into an elevator and onto the next floor. Not a tracking shot per se, but I never see it mentioned so I tought I'd shout it out.

Yes, that was all one shot. And they did it twice, beautifully. Once before the Zombies and once after.

Both times Shaun is oblivious to what is going on around him.

Those shots are awesome though.

Just saw Rush and I must say that the opening scene where the camera goes through through the bar is pretty amazing.

Any shot that follows a character or object's movement in the frame is a tracking shot.

Technically, "tracking shot" refers to the camera moving on a dolly track because back in the day that's the only option they had when they wanted to move the camera through space (other than using a crane). But since filmmaking equipment/techniques have gotten so varied and sophisticated and you cannot be 100% certain which moves are on rails or wheels or on a steadicam (unless it becomes apparent through topography or you have insider info), then you may as well lump them all together and go with the visual criteria (following/tracking something) and not the equipment critera (track). As long as the camera follows something, it's a tracking shot.

One that comes to mind: The shot with the vocal chorus in the background as Luke knocks down Vader during the final duel in Return of the Jedi.

Correct. Me and Yando win. Someone close the thread already.

Touch of Evil is the correct answer.

I agree that this thread can be closed.

Seconded. Or thirded, or fourthed, or whatever.

It wins.