Are you looking for a way to make a static shot in your film feel more professional or create a captivating and dynamic atmosphere? Slider shots are an epic and effective way to take your landscape or typically still shot to the next level.
Here are six different slider shots you can use to achieve a whole world of effects in your next cinematic project.
1. Pull & Tilt
Low pull and tilts are often used to create feelings of nothingness and insignificance or can be used to show more detailed surroundings when pulling out from a subject.
This shot typically starts tighter on the subject and pulls back giving greater scene perspective whilst tilting the angle from lower to higher.
To achieve this shot, we set up a Manfrotto Magic Carpet Pro in the centre of our shot and mounted a Manfrotto Nitrotech 612 Fluid Video Head on top. Combined, the slider and fluid head allow us to keep both axes of movement smooth and judder-free.
The flywheel’s smooth resistance on the Manfrotto Magic Carpet Pro is a massive bonus because it allows the camera to move evenly without any jolts.
Pro tip: Make sure you have the panning axis on your video head locked off, that way you’ll get a smooth and consistent sliding tilt shot without any unwanted right to left sway.
2. Inverted Tracking
An inverted tracking shot is a classic technique, used to give a sense of scale and topographical layout of the surroundings or an open area. You’ve probably seen a bunch of these shots in a wide range of genres, most commonly they’re taken by drones.
For this technique, imagine an overhead drone shot but on a smaller scale.
We created an inverted tracking shot by mounting our slider and whole camera set up onto two light stands. The Manfrotto Magic Carpet Pro made this possible because of its extendable length, taking the slider beyond the surface of what you’re shooting (in our video’s case, a table).
The Manfrotto Magic Carpet Pro also can be mounted upside down without forking out for any additional clamps or equipment thanks to the 1/4" and 3/8" UNC thread mounting points on the end caps.
We used the Manfrotto Nitrotech 612 Fluid Video Head again here, which helped to achieve a 90° tilt. That way we were able to get a full bird's eye view of our scene from above.
Once the equipment was all set up it was a super simple move tracking from one side to the other. Easy as that!
3. Vertical Tracking
Vertical tracking shots are a seriously handy tool when you’re wanting to show a greater perspective from the top and bottom of a shot. They can be used to track upwards of an object or a person to show greater scenery. Vertical tracking shots can be used to create epic feelings of power.
On large budget films, these shots are usually performed using a jib camera or a crane… both pretty hefty (and expensive) pieces of equipment, but you can achieve a similar effect on a smaller scale by mounting your slider vertically and using a video head!
For our set up, we used a counterweight, having the camera move from top to bottom by engaging the flywheel on our Manfrotto Magic Carpet Pro and slowly lowering the camera down, letting gravity work its magic.
Using the Manfrotto Tilt Platform made it a breeze to pull off a 90° shot while performing a vertical movement.
Pro tip: If you use the Manfrotto Tilt Platform, you can put your camera setup to any angle depending on how you’ve built your slider, not just 90°.
4. Tracking Pan Shot
A tracking shot is a bold way to add production value to your project (a bit of a bonus in our eyes). They can create a sense of depth or parallax between the subject and their background, and add dimensionality to a typically plain shot.
A tracking shot is essentially where a camera follows a subject backwards, forward or moves alongside them whilst the subject stays stationary.
One way to take your tracking shot to the next level is to add in a pan. This allows you to keep your subject in the centre of your frame whilst creating that depth and parallax in the background.
We created this shot by attaching our slider between two tripods, making our setup stable. This meant the camera could move smoothly, panning from side to side whilst tracking around the subject.
Pro tip: If you’re having a little trouble with the panning aspect of this shot, you can always increase the drag on your video head. This adds more resistance and makes the horizontal panning movement smoother.
5. Dolly Zoom
A dolly zoom shot is a solid tool that can be used to evoke a feeling that the world is closing in on your subject or create a sense of fear and panic.
It’s certainly not a shot that’s needed in every project, but when it fits the brief, it will take your footage to the next level!
The shot works by zooming in or out on your subject and at the same time tracking forwards or backwards on your slider in the opposite direction (track forward zoom out, track backwards zoom in). This keeps your subject the same relative size while your background warps and scales.
Keeping focus on a subject when tracking can be temperamental. We were able to accomplish this by using a Manfrotto Manual Follow Focus. You could also use your camera’s autofocus… if it's up to the test!
6. Pull, Tilt & Roll
Our final shot is a pull, tilt and roll. It’s a pretty wild shot, but great to have in your tool kit.
This shot creates confusion and disorientation moving from one seemingly real scenery surrounding to another through a side rolling pull and a tilt of the camera.
The way we created this shot is by suspending our homemade mini cardboard city (if you’re a bit lost with that reference…might be worth checking out our video for this one) upside down with Avenger Combo Stands and Avenger C500 Pelican Gaffer Grips.
Following this, we created a fake ‘infinity pool’ by laying down a polythene drop sheet and some spare 2x4s. We covered our makeshift pool in a thin layer of water to create a reflection of our set suspended directly above.
This set setup works to create a confusion of reality as we pull up with a sideways roll from the water’s reflection to our mini-set.
Although you could give this shot a crack using a video head, there is a way to make it more attainable and seamless… and that’s opting for motion control. We used the Manfrotto Genie II Linear and the Genie II Pan Tilt. We also had a Genie Mini II on a Manfrotto Pan Tilt Bracket, which helps create that momentous sideways roll.
This may all sound super confusing and like a lot of tech, but thankfully the setup is actually on the simple side.
Well… we say it’s simple because we use the Manfrotto Motion App (iOS & Android), which is a new and legendary tool, that helps the Manfrotto gear work in harmony using keyframes to create one very memorable shot.
With all of the gear setup, you’re ready to hit go and give it a try!
Are you ready to add some epic slider shots to your next video?
Now that you’ve got some solid foundation knowledge about slider techniques to take your footage to the next level, it’s time to give it a go.
Reading a ‘how to’ on a website or watching a video can make it all still seem daunting but it’s certainly achievable once you put it into practice…and we’re always here to help!.
