shaky cam

shaky cam

A cinematographic technique in which the camera is operated by hand, as opposed to being fixed on a mount, resulting in a jerky, unstable image. This is done to emulate a first-person perspective or imitate what an ordinary person might have captured on a handheld camcorder in order to create a sense of immersion or heighten the sense of excitement, terror, urgency, etc. I'm really sick of the trend in recent horror movies to have the whole thing filmed in shaky cam. It isn't scary, it's just nauseating! It just felt like the shaky cam was a cheap way for the filmmakers to give the documentary a sense of authenticity. The director uses shaky cam to give the audience a glimpse into the protagonist's point of view during especially emotional scenes.
See also: cam, shaky
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

shaky-cam

n. a camera, used mainly in advertisements and documentaries, that is shaken and moved constantly to create a sense of excitement, urgency, or crisis. We can’t afford much in the way of costumes for the sequence, so we will use the shaky-cam and shoot it in dim light.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • shaky camera
  • shaky-cam
  • cam
  • damaged
  • build (something) on sand
  • build on sand
  • drive (one) mad
  • drive (someone) mad
  • a basket case
  • basket case
References in periodicals archive
Kendra also toured her fans around their "homeschool area," where Doug and Cheska left comments: "Shaky cam baby girl!" and "It's nakakahilo baby," respectively.
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Greengrass is known for employing a shaky cam and rapid-fire editing, and those techniques are perfectly suited for examining this real, frightening moment.
Movie review: Norwegian massacre '22 July' is brilliantly handled
He opts for sweeping tracking shots rather than the en vogue shaky cam footage.
Deliverance at 'Dunkirk'
Told largely through home video clips, and filmed in that "shaky cam" style made famous by The Blair Witch Project, it makes you feel hugely uneasy all the way through.
Everybody needs good neighbours; TODAY'S TV With Sara Wallis
There's a slight overabundance of CGI that kills the tension, but for the majority the cinematography is stunning, and the frenetic mixture of camera angles (there's close-ups, off-centre shots, pans and shaky cam often in the same sequence) heightens the action.
A whale of a time
But there's no shaky cam or quick edits to dilute the moment, whether it's a well-earned victory or painful loss.
Football flick eludes cliches' grasp
Full marks though to the programme-makers for trying to liven things up a bit with jump-cut editing, fast zooms, hand-held shaky cam and blurry super-fast panning.
This show's just a load of dead Heir; Bevan on the box
But the director's immersive eyewitness aesthetie shouldn't be reduced to so-called "shaky cam" shooting and editing that intensifies the action onscreen with quick cuts and dynamic cross-axis jumps between angles.
Rewriting the rules: Greengrass chaos is carefully crafted
Like (http://www.ibtimes.com/diablo-3-new-trailer-ps3-released-borrows-paranormal-activity-video-1352273) yesterday's trailer , this newest teaser was done in the "shaky cam" style popularized by horror movies like "The Blair Witch Project," "REC" and "Paranormal Activity."
'Diablo 3': Second Teaser Trailer For PS3 Released [VIDEO]
The 'black op' to capture Bin Laden is rendered in loving detail: the Shaky Cam and night vision goggles transform the viewer into a Navy SEAL along for the ride.
Zero Dark Thirty
'Because I have a lot of experience running around in the woods chasing after real evil with 16mm equipment I think people were expecting me to use the same shaky cam techniques as the first film.
At the movies: Be afraid, be very afraid; Mike Davies goes back into the woods with Blair Witch 2 director Joe Berlinger
Systrom demonstrated on stage, and if the demonstration was true to life, it very impressively smoothed out the "shaky cam" effect common to filming video on a smartphone.
Facebook Adds Instagram Video: 15 Second, Non-Looping Clips And Stabilization Program Stand Out From Vine
With Megaton's choice to adapt a shaky cam effect with quick cut scenes, the action wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been, and was more nauseating, if anything.
Taken for granted
Filmed by documentary-maker Joe Berlinger, it retains much of the shaky cam feel of the first film, but mixes it with more conventional horror film techniques - to patchy effect.
CINEMA: Broken SPELL; GO2
She survived and the shaky cam film - made for a paltry $30,000 - has gone on to gross over $130 million at the US box office alone.
CINEMA: Are you ready for the of your life?; GO2