Moving in stealth: On the tracking shot as a technique for imperceptibility

Abstract

This article explores recent uses of the tracking shot in various media. Examples drawn from television, video games and video art reveal that recent audiovisual media have frequently used a particular kind of tracking shot that follows an individual through a complex environment. This article argues that this tracking shot contributes to an aesthetic of stealth, that is, a perceptual attunement to notions of imperceptibility and secrecy. The stealth tracking shot can thus be seen as one of the aesthetic principles that articulate discourses of securitisation. The argument proceeds in three steps. First, the article shows that this specific use of the tracking shot takes inspiration from third-person video games. An analysis of the stealth game Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013) shows how the mobile ‘following camera’ allows the viewer to perceive the avatar in his or her environment. Then, in an analysis of the unbroken tracking shot in True Detective (2014), it is demonstrated how this kind of tracking shot contributes to a reformulation of the notions of law enforcement underlying crime fiction. Specifically, the tracking shot is related to the notion of stealth democracy. Finally, the article considers Hito Steyerl’s video ‘Guards’ to show that the aesthetic principles of stealth operate not only in individual media objects but more generally in public spaces and institutions such as museums and art galleries. To conclude, the article situates the stealth tracking shot in a more general consideration of the politicality of media aesthetics.