Film grammar / Camera movements
Crane Shot
Vertical sweep up or down; scale and grandeur.
What it is
A crane (jib) shot moves the camera vertically, often combined with a tilt. Crane up reveals scale - a crowd, a city, a giant robot. Crane down brings the audience into a scene.
When to use it
Openings and finales are its natural home.
How to prompt it
Specify direction and what is revealed: "crane up revealing the whole festival crowd".
Crane up revealing a giant battle robot standing in a vast dim hangar, sparks from welders at its feet, workers tiny beside it.
5 examples in the library
Motel Pool
slow crane-downwide
Hangar Nine
slow crane-upextreme-wide
Main Stage
crane-upwide
Temple
slow crane-downwide
Deep End
slow crane-upwide