Camera Movement

I think my favorite example of camera movement is in the opening scene of Jurassic Park. There is a long, continuous shot in that scene of the velociraptor cage being lowered. The camera starts out looking at the trees, and then we see the cage come through the trees from beneath. The forklift drives past the camera and the camera follows it (it has to swivel up and then around almost 180 degrees). Finally the camera pulls up and back to a wide angle shot of the whole staging area. This was probably done with a crane.

What I think works about a really long, fluid camera movement like that is it allows the viewer to see everything almost instantly. Of course, it's moving in a way that a person wouldn't usually move in real life, but in a way this lends itself to a kind of almost hyper-realism. It gives the viewer the sense that they are being given an almost omniscient view of what is happening, which fits well with Jurassic Park because it's purpose (in my mind) is to show the viewer things that humans don't normally see. It also helps that the movement is very steady and fluid, and that the composition and framing are kept in good balance throughout.