Pan Shot (horizontal sweep, swivel shot, horizontal scan)

A horizontal movement of the camera from a fixed position, often used to follow subjects or reveal a wider view of the scene. “If your subject must stay still while the world glides sideways, go Pan Shot.” A Pan Shot involves rotating the camera horizontally from a fixed position, mimicking the effect of turning your head left or right. In AI-generated video prompts, this gives the illusion that the camera is scanning or following movement across a scene while the camera itself doesn’t travel.

Think of the iconic "helicopter pan" around the NYC skyline or shots where a character stays centered while the background sweeps past, like during conversations or surveillance sequences.

Subject & Background Behaviour:

Subject: stays locked in place or repositions within frame; does not scale. Background: scrolls left or right depending on pan direction; appears to glide horizontally.

Don’t-Confuse-With:

Dolly Shot (Truck Left/Right): Involves camera translation (physically moving), creating parallax; Pan Shot rotates only. Tracking Shot: Often combines movement and rotation, whereas a pan is rotation-only. Tilt Shot: Vertical version of the pan; camera rotates up/down instead of left/right.