(Self)Tracking Shot

In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot (also known as a dolly shot) is a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails in order to realise the movement of the viewpoint in the shot. Usualy that movement is centered on a present subject that is part of the narrative. In the case of (Self)Tracking Shot, as the title suggests, the shot is centered on the apparatus that produces it. A shot, enclosed in the trajectory of its own movement. Two cameras are mounted on the dolly: one pointed in the direction of movement; and one pointed to the back (oposite to the direction of movement). The rails on which the dolly travels are limited number of modules, mounted to each other to create a curve of the movement with a certain lenght. A team of three grip assistants have the task to provide continuous movement forward despite the limited number of rails. That is achieved by permanent unmount of the rail that is left behind the platform and mount of that same rail infront of it. The two cameras document the efforts of the team on mounting the rails (infront) and unmounting them (behind) against the background of the changing surroundings and ocasional passers by. The shot lasts until there are no more possibilities of movement or in the occurrence of a wrong movement or the grip.