The Slider: A Versatile Tool

A slider is a unique tool in a cinematographer’s kit that has many uses. So if you have one, then bring it out, dust it off, and try some of these new moves for your next short film. If you don’t have one, then I have some slider recommendations for you that we use for all SLR Lounge productions!

The Sliders We Use

For SLRLounge productions, we use the Syrp Magic Carpet. It’s a versatile slider that comes in 2 sizes, it’s motion tracking ready, and it’s easy to set up and use.

4 Camera Movements You Can Do With A Slider

Camera Movement #1: Slide

This camera movement should be obvious because the equipment is named after the movement. A slide is simply when a camera moves laterally through three-dimensional space. In layman’s terms, the camera moves side to side.

[REWIND: Learning Lighting for Video]

Camera Movement #2: Boom

A Boom (or Jib) is when a camera moves up or down through space. Putting it on a slider gives you a fixed plane for the camera to move on, so you can execute smooth camera booms.

Camera Movement #3: Push/Pull

Push is when you move the camera forward towards your subject, and pull is when you move the camera backwards away from your subject. These are important camera moves for storytelling. A push will focus your viewer’s attention on your subject, and a pull will reveal more of the frame to your viewers.

Camera Movement #4: Parallax

The Parallax is a when a camera slides in one direction while panning the opposite direction. This is a great way to execute movement with your slider while maintaining focus on your subject.

Study Your Favorite Movies and Scenes

These camera movements are universal and many directors and cinematographers will implement them in their movies. Next time you watch a movie try, to be more aware of the camera movement choices the director is making, and how that affects the story telling.

I hope you enjoyed this video. If you want to see more like this then let me know in the comments!