Roll
A movement where the camera turns around the lens axis, so the whole frame rotates like a clock hand. The camera’s position and the direction it faces stay the same; it only spins. It ranges from a slight lean and back to a barrel roll of a full turn or more. If it stops while tilted, it becomes a Dutch angle.
How it feels
- Dizziness
- Disorientation
- Instability
- Energy
- Confusion
When to use it
- Flying, zero gravity or dream scenes
- A drunk or drugged point of view
- Showing a character’s unstable state
- Making action feel dynamic
In the movies
Not to be confused with
- Dutch Angle
- A Dutch angle is a frame held at a tilt. A roll is a movement where the tilt keeps changing during the shot.
- Pan
- A pan turns the camera’s head left and right. A roll keeps the direction and spins around the lens axis.
- Tilt
- A tilt turns the camera’s head up and down. It rotates on a different axis from a roll.
Prompt
Keyword
camera roll
Descriptive
The camera slowly rolls 360 degrees around the lens axis, turning the whole frame upside down and back.
Try these combinations
Roll: an astronaut in zero gravity
The camera slowly rolls 360 degrees as an astronaut floats through a zero-gravity space station corridor
Roll + POV: a drunk point of view
Drunk point of view at a crowded party, the camera rolls side to side, blurry lights, handheld