Camera sway as cinematic technique?

I've noticed a trend in movies where the camera "sways" during quiet, drama scenes, as opposed to "shaky cam" which is used during action scenes.

I've noticed its use in both political/war movies and drama movies designed for teenagers, but not really in other kinds of movies, because it's supposed to be "real" and mess with the viewer's emotions. However, all it succeeds in doing is irritating me and making me feel queasy.

Is there a proper name for this technique and what is it designed to accomplish?

Best Answer

It's hard to be objective when answering this question as I personally hate this kind of camera work (out of context), but in general, 'swaying' shots and 'shaky-cam' fall under the same catch-all monicker of 'hand-held'.

First used to simulate the hand-held appearance of news reel footage in pseudo-documentaries, the camera form had a resurgence in the early 60s when the new wave of directors felt it their duty to rebel against the established 'old guard' - then it resurfaced after NYPD Blue on TV began shooting episodes with the technique.

The introduction of cheaper, prosumer cameras led to a proliferation of hand-held indie films, which was adopted by the larger studios especially during action scenes in order to give the scene a sense of confusion and urgency.

However, the camera form has been over-used in many cases, and is especially jarring when used out of context - for example, in the recent Man of Steel, the hand-held cinematography was fully justified during the battle scenes and moments of extreme action, but was completely unnecessary (in my opinion) during the intimate conversational moments between Clark and his parents.

This technique often has the effect of pulling the viewer out of the film by drawing attention to the camera move, or in extreme cases, causing nausea.