When creating a good walking scene, it's helpful to know which camera angles and shots work best. First thing to remember, is that shooting walking scenes work best when a large variety of shots are used as walking in itself isn't very interesting for an audience to watch, it has to be shot and edited so that the audience are kept on their toes.
A low angle shot works really well and therefore is widely used, because often walking scenes include characters of power, and since a low angled shot means that the audience are looking up at the character, strong body language whilst walking is easy to spot. It also creates a strong first impression of a character, if a low angle shot is used then the audience will automatically recognize that in the film that particular character is an important one.
Shots of the characters feet whilst walking are almost always used, especially in the opening of a film if the character hasn't been seen yet, because the audience is intrigued into who's feet they are, why certain shoes worn, why they walk in a certain way etc. and they remain interested. For example in 'Mean Girls' the scene where the lead characters are walking down the school corridor, begins with their shoes/legs. It really works well to open the scene, they walk in time with a punchy soundtrack and with each other therefore the audience are immediately interested in what they're doing/where they are going/who they are. The scene is all about making an impression, the slow motion pan up from the feet to the characters faces works extremely well as the audience have time to take in what the characters are wearing, how they're walking and any facial expression.
Tracking with the camera obviously works perfectly when filming walking, it means that the audience can move along with the actor(s), showing their body language and clearly showing the fact that the characters are walking. Tracking is also used in 'Mean Girls' once the characters faces have been revealed via mid shots. Mid shots and tracking work well together, because it enables not only a character's facial expression and body language to be shown, but also their surroundings.
Wide shots/long shots work very well when filming walking scenes because it's just as important to establish the environment, as it is any characters in the film. Walking scenes are mainly used at the very beginning of films, meaning that any environment established then, gives the audience a feel for the entire film.
One of the most important rules to remember when shooting people walking, is not to "cross the line" which in other words means that you shoot from right to left across the frame and if you always shoot from one side of the character, if you shoot from every angle it can be very confusing for the audience. The diagram below explains:
Dolly/ handheld shots are used a great deal too, purely because they give the cameraman lots of freedom and ease to move with the characters, and possibly to include little gestures that a slight turn of the camera will just capture. Obviously it's easy to move around with just a camera, there is no other apparatus to carry around set either. If a character is walking with speed, the cameraman has the ability to move slightly to ensure the character stays in frame or adjust himself, finding the angle that works best.
