Unchained camera technique

The "unchained camera technique" ("Entfesselte Kamera" in German) was an innovation by filmmaker F. W. Murnau that allowed for filmmakers to get shots from cameras in motion enabling them to use pan shots, tracking shots, tilts, crane shots etc.

The technique was introduced by Murnau in his 1924 silent film, The Last Laugh, and is arguably the most important stylistic innovation of the 20th century, setting the stage for some of the most commonly used cinematic techniques of modern contemporary cinema.

Although credited to F.W. Murnau, Karl Freund is the inventor of the unchained camera. With its first appearance in Der letzte Mann, the unchained camera was a revolution in early film. For the first time, the camera was free of the tripod and could move around the set. Because it was no longer confined to one position, thousands of new shots were possible. Freund was known to wear the camera on his stomach and walk around while it was filming. He would also put the camera on a cart that moves along a track. Several other innovative ways of moving the camera were introduced by Freund, including putting the camera on a crane.[1]