tracking shot

American  

noun

Movies, Television.

1. dolly shot.

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tracking shot British  

noun

1. a camera shot in which the cameraman follows a specific person or event in the action

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Etymology

Origin of tracking shot

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

That song, a new number called “The Girl in the Bubble,” is staged in one whirling tracking shot.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025

One person’s humiliating nadir comes during a painful tracking shot at an outdoor party where they’re shunned like they have the plague.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2025

There may be no more effective critic bait or cinematic flex than the extended tracking shot, wherein an episode's director of photography captures an extended section of action and dialogue in a single take.

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022

He models his methods of creating suspense on the work of Brian De Palma, and cites Martin Scorsese’s famous tracking shot at the Copacabana in “Goodfellas” as his inspiration for the Díaz bullpen moment.

From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2022

My head leaning against the carriage window, I watch these houses roll past me like a tracking shot in a film.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins