The "unchained camera technique" ("Entfesselte Kamera" in German) was an innovation by filmmaker F.W. Murnau that allowed for filmmakers to get shots from cameras in motion enabling them to use pan shots, tracking shots, tilts, crane shots etc.
The technique was introduced by Murnau in his 1924 silent film, The Last Laugh, and is arguably the most important stylistic innovation of the 20th century, setting the stage for some of the most commonly used cinematic techniques of modern contemporary cinema.
Famous quotes containing the words camera and/or technique:
“The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur in the observer’s mind; strong enough to send him into battle perhaps, but not to have him understand why he is going.”
—Denis Donoghue (b. 1928)
“Technique is the test of sincerity. If a thing isn’t worth getting the technique to say, it is of inferior value.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)