Panning, a horizontal motion in an image display or capture.

Movie and television cameras pan by turning horizontally on a vertical axis, but the effect may be enhanced by adding other techniques, such as rails to move the whole camera platform.

In telecommunications, the term panning has the following meanings:

1. On the viewing screen of a display device, e.g., a computer monitor, horizontal shifting of the entire displayed image.
   Note: The panning direction is at a right angle with respect to the scrolling direction.
2. In video technology, the use of a camera to scan a subject horizontally.
3. In antenna systems, successively changing the azimuth of a beam of radio-frequency energy over the elements of a given horizontal region, or the corresponding process in reception.

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C

Pan and Scan

In television, the term pan and scan refers to reproducing wide-screen films on narrow TV screens by selectively moving from one part of the screen as the action moves or the speaker changes.

Early Technology

The term panning is derived from panorama, a word originally coined in 1787 by Robert Barker for the 18th century version of these applications, a machine that unrolled or unfolded a long horizontal painting to give the impression the scene was passing by. (Barker also invented the cyclorama in which a large painting encircles an audience.)

Audio Recording

In audio recording, panning is the spread of a monaural signal in a stereo or multi-channel sound field