Camera Movement

The most important thing in creating an artistic look in my opinion, isn't lighting, isn't framing, and isn't acting alone, but rather camera movement. If you have a great looking piece and great actors, but the camera movement doesn't match what story you're telling, it falls flat. For example, imagine a super fast paced shoot out scene or fight scene, but the camera is sitting on a tripod and not moving while the actors move around. It wouldn't be exciting. It would look like an old cheesy silent film. Or for example, Imagine a really slow casual conference meeting, but the camera moves around super fast, is super shaky, and has extreme close ups and fast cuts. It would look weird and people would probably get dizzy. The last example is the show " The Office." A lot of the camera movements are handheld, and have a lot of zoom shots. it makes you feel like you are part of the office. if you left it on a tripod while everyone talked, the show wouldn't be a success.