Spike Lee's signature shot

In Spike Lee's strong visual direction, he has one "signature" shot that he uses over and over again in his films: it's something I like to call the "floating dolly". The way the shot is accomplished is basically putting both the camera and the actor on a dolly at the same time, so that they move at the same speed and it looks almost as if the person is "floating". He sometimes uses it to simulate people walking, as in Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, and, in my opinion, the best use of it being at the end of Malcolm X, where Spike uses it to say something about the way Malcolm was feeling the day he was assassinated (it is widely agreed upon that Malcolm knew he was going to be killed that day), showing the melancholy state he was in, as he knew he was about to die. So, in order of theatrical release, the films in which he uses this shot are Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, He Got Game (a quick shot during the credits), and 25th Hour.

Click on the picture below to watch the scene. (10.7 MB, Windows Media Player required)