Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character?

Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character? - Anonymous people on escalator in modern subway

This is very common scene in movies and TV shows where a character is shown standing stationary but all other characters' movement is shown in kinda fast forward mode. And these characters are moving around that stationary character.

Questions:

  1. What is this technique called? (if at all there is one)
  2. How is this effect achieved? Two possibilities I can think of:
    • Actually shoot the complete scene normally and then use a time-lapse (or a similar) technique.
    • Just shoot the central guy and add all others characters separately using graphics software

Please add any interesting/technical details (from purely learning point of view) if you think they can be helpful.

An example scene to supplement the question:

Another example (WARNING: Some NSFW content!):

P.S. I am tempted to add the question "When was this technique first used in Movie or on TV?" But I am afraid that might not be acceptable. Moderators, please guide.



Best Answer

I don't know how this technique is called but you find a lot of information using keywords like standing still time-lapse or static time-lapse.

Both of your ideas are possible!

  • Sometimes the actor stands very still and they speed the whole video up
  • Sometimes they film the actor in front of a green screen and add the time-lapse video to the background (I think this was done in your Scrubs example)

In addition there are some other possibilities...

  • The actor could act (breath/move/blink) in slow-motion, everybody else acts normal, speed up the footage.
  • They mask the actor out of the original footage and only speed up the background




Pictures about "Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character?"

Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character? - Train carrying travelers to high mountains
Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character? - Full body of unrecognizable male running on hot burning coals during show in evening time
Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character? - Modern silver car driving on street with traffic cones



Quick Answer about "Camera technique where crowd moves fast around a stationary character?"

  • Actually shoot the complete scene normally and then use a time-lapse (or a similar) technique.
  • Just shoot the central guy and add all others characters separately using graphics software.


  • What is push in shot?

    Definition of push shot 1 : a billiards or pool shot in which the cue remains in contact with the cue ball until the cue ball has touched the object ball or one in which the cue strikes the cue ball twice.

    What is a raking shot in film?

    A raking shot, or traveling shot, involves the camera moving from side to side or up and down while filming a scene. This creates a perspective that is similar to viewing a scene at an angle. Raking shots can also be used to show how objects move as they travel down a street or over a hill.

    What is roll camera movement?

    Roll. The camera roll is a rotational camera movement that rotates the camera over its side on its long axis. Rolls can be dizzying and unnatural. For this reason, filmmakers use it to disorient the audience or create uneasiness.

    Which are types of camera movement?

    7 Basic Camera Movements
    • Pan. First up is the pan. ...
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    • Dive into a topic.




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