Tag Archive - Pan Shots

Pan to Take It All In

This week we’re going to talk about PANs. No, not the things in your kitchen. A PAN is used by the screenwriter to tell the camera to move from one place to another. PAN stands for panoramic and implies the camera pivoting while mounted or on a tripod. A PAN operates in real time, showing how long it takes or how far a character has to move across a space, and it can show the spatial relationships that exist in the story.

PAN left, PAN right. Why? To get the reader to shift focus and draw her attention to some detail. It emphasizes the character noticing something. Or looking for something. Or following something. Continue Reading…