A rostrum camera stand used for shooting animation.

A rostrum camera is a specially adapted camera used in television and film to animate a still picture or object. This article is about motion picture film cameras See Video camera for cameras which record images electronically Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic It consists of a moving lower platform on which the article to be filmed is placed, while the camera is placed above on a column. The camera is connected to a mechanism that allows an operator to precisely control the movement of the platform as well as of the camera.

In a modern setup a computer controls the platform's horizontal, vertical and rotational movements as well as its zoom. ZOOM was an American Educational Television show, created almost entirely by Children, which aired on PBS from Many visual effects can be created from this simple setup although it is most often used to add interest to static objects. The camera can for example traverse across a painting, and using wipes and zooms, change a lifeless picture into a sequence suitable for television or movie productions.

In the UK, Ken Morse is well known for his rostrum camera work in TV and film and his name is often seen in the closing credits of UK productions. Ken Morse (born c1949 is often described as Britain 's leading Rostrum camera operator Closing credits, inside a Motion picture or Television program come at the end of a movie or show and list all the cast and crew involved in the production

An animation camera or animation stand, used for single frame shooting on film is similar. An animation camera, a type of Rostrum camera, is a Movie camera specially adapted for frame-by-frame shooting Animation or Stop motion An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface including Cel animation, Graphic animation, With a multiplane camera, a 3-dimensional effect can be obtained.