Cinematography in a Sitcom

I was watching some Home Improvement episodes this week (I have Seasons One and Two on DVD) and noticed in the cinematography of a couple of the episodes. I noticed this particular technique in two of the episodes. When the scene starts, the camera fades in and then immediately begins panning to the upcoming center of action. However, when the camera fades in, the camera is focused on an action that moves off the screen as the camera pans. For example, there is a scene where Brad is pulling dishes out of the cabinet and placing them on the counter behind him. The camera starts with Brad pulling the dishes out of the cabinet and then begins panning to the right where Tim and Jill begin a conversation. But as the camera pans, Brad is still in the picture until he hits the point where he stops to place the dishes on the counter. The effect this camera movement had on me was that it set up the scene and gave a sense of activity going on that was not the main focus of the scene while smoothly transitioning to the main focus of the action of the scene.