Ultimate Guide to the Dolly Zoom - Camera Movement & When to Use It Explained
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- The Dolly Zoom Effect Explained - a guide to cinema’s most unique and mind-bending camera movement, including how to enhance the Vertigo effect with lighting, camera angle, and sound design.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Dolly Zoom Shots in Film
00:57 - What is a Dolly Zoom?
04:09 - Speed and Focal Length
06:59 - Background Considerations
08:35 - Creative Examples
10:58 - Dolly Zoom in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
11:47 - Dolly Zoom in Raging Bull
13:17 - Takeaways
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THE DOLLY ZOOM EFFECT EXPLAINED
You know that moment in Jaws when Chief Brody sees the shark attack happening - the background stretches behind him as if reality itself is breaking apart. This intense and mind-bending shot is called a dolly zoom and it has been used for decades to capture moments like this. But how does the dolly zoom effect work and how many ways can it be used? In the video, we’ll explain the mechanics of the shot, the applications for it, and how to enhance it with lighting, camera angle, and sound design.
WHAT IS THE DOLLY ZOOM EFFECT
As Alfred Hitchcock explains, the idea for the dolly zoom goes back to one night when he was drunk. He described the sensation as “everything going far away from me” and an idea was born to recreate that experience in a film. The goal was to keep the subject fixed in the frame while the background stretched behind them. Hitchcock first wanted to use the shot in Rebecca when Joan Fontaine’s character faints but he couldn’t figure out how to do it. Nearly two decades later, when Hitchcock was making his classic Vertigo. It was a cameraman on the film named Irmin Roberts who found the solution - to zoom out while the dolly pushed in.
WHEN TO USE THE DOLLY ZOOM EFFECT
The dolly zoom effect can really amp up a moment like in Jaws, or it can work more subtly in the background to slowly crank up the tension. It is perfect for any sort of sudden or dramatic emotional or tonal shift - for positive and negative emotions alike. The dolly zoom effect is great for moments of fear, disorientation, infatuation, panic, revelation, etc. It can be the ideal way to accent and emphasize any important character moment.
HOW TO ENHANCE THE VERTIGO EFFECT
The textbook dolly zoom maneuver is visually compelling on its own but there are also a number of ways to enhance the Vertigo effect. For example, changing the lighting during the shot - like in The Lion King when Simba panics before the oncoming stampede. Sound design is also often paired with the camera movement as additional sensory input. For example, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when Peter is told how his mother really died, the soundtrack introduces a descending bass note, while high strings rise in the mix. The two complementary sounds nicely parallel the complementary movements of the lens and the camera.
The dolly zoom effect is relatively simple and it certainly looks cool. But the filmmakers that have been most successful using the Vertigo effect only when necessary to enhance a particular moment in a way that is beyond our normal visual experience.
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“The Descent” - David Julyan
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“Needles and Dalgona” - PARK MIN JU
“Kid Vs. Herod” - Alan Silvestri
“Tina” - Randy Eelman
“Showtime, A Holes” - Tyler Bates
“Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo” - William Bowles
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Dolly Zoom Shots in Film
00:57 - What is a Dolly Zoom?
04:09 - Speed and Focal Length
06:59 - Background Considerations
08:35 - Creative Examples
10:58 - Dolly Zoom in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
11:47 - Dolly Zoom in Raging Bull
13:17 - Takeaways
🙇 oh we need a
Hi8
The dolly zoom on sugar ray Robinson in Raging Bull gives me chills every single time. What a masterclass in camera movement, editing, acting and storytelling.
top tier filmmaking
That was my favorite, actually made me consider watching it 😂
I have to agree dude, that made me feel that weird chill you get in your stomach, like when you're on a roller coaster and about to drop you know ?
I just got that feeling in my stomach and was like omg... it felt like Sugar Ray was as scary as that roller coaster about to drop... literally... amazing...
I agree!! To think of the amount of coordination the entire crew had to have with each other in order to execute it as smoothly as they did is amazing!
The way Hitchcock used it and the way it used now shows how cinematography is such an important aspect of filmmaking!! Thank you for putting this video up StudioBinder!!
Glad you liked it!
The dolly zoom in Jaws is the first one that really hit me. It's still one of the best uses of this shot.
famous for a reason!
And that background music at that shot😮.
Absolutely love the use of it in Severance elevator scenes. ♥️ So devastatingly subtle
Perfect use
My favourite use of the dolly zoom is to show a character's sudden fear. It's a good visual representation of that feeling of "your stomach dropping out." Jaws and The Lion King are my favourite examples. Great video!
Good point!
Still one of the best Dolly zooms is in LOTR when Frodo looks into the forest before the Nazgul come.
It gets across the "somethings not right" feel perfectly.
For real.
thank you so much for including examples from animation!! i'm doing my first ever internship as a 3d animator and i've been having a hard time figuring out how to do camera layouts that weren't bland, so seeing examples with your explanation helps a TON
Good luck!
The value, detail, and clarity of information provided in this channel's videos is enough to make me want to buy their product out of sheer gratitude. Well done, folks!
Another one hit out the park. Bonus to your great work; my veggie bolognaise is not as bland as I feared. Thank you, dear Studio Binder.
Not only the use of the semi-colon, but a reference to bolognaise! I comment more complete, I shall not find this week....or the remainder of this month! We are in the midst of greatness!!
haha enjoy!
This video series is the best you guys made until now (previous ones were awesome too) Zeroing in on one type of shot at a time and analysing emotional impact of it with the audiece is one of the best way to learn filmmaking. Thanks for making this video. Also, can you try a video on a shot like crash zoom. Not the ones like leo's first shot in Django, the ones in most of PTA's earlier movies. Damien Chazelle's recent Babylon had many shots like that.
PS not sure if it is a zoom or fast push in or not sure what's the name of it, but would love to know about it and try it.
Appreciate the feedback!
One of my favorite filmmaking techniques! Love the examples you have here, all excellent cases of the dolly zoom.
The Only You Tube Chanel That Tell All The Technic For Film Making I Love It 💯
Easiest and the most efficient movement.i love it
A banger for sure!
brilliant video essay. i cant believe content of this high quality is free to watch [dolly zoom in on my wide-eyed face]
The Dolly Zoom in Descent is such magnificent!
This channel is the best example that you can never finish learning
Always learning :)
Wow, these are a masters level class in film making! Thank you for these!
Class in session ;)
00:16 Enthiran 🤩
tbh i really love the dolly zoom, its a really cool cinimatic effect and it creates for an amazing scene for some reason-
It only exists in cinema!
@@StudioBinder yeah i really wanna encorporate these scenes into something im making and i wanna know how i can do it with my phone or any good cheep camera i can buy-
studio binder is one of the top cinema tech channel.
Updated.. thanks for hard work Studio Binder
🙏🙏
The dolly zoom at 0:11 blew my mind!
🤯🤯
I was waiting all the video for this opening shot of Split 13:36. This is a subtle dolly Zoom but this was the most memorable for me. Thanks for the video StudioBinder it was helpful and very interesting !
It's a good one for sure!
Just want to say how great this channel is 🙏 thanks
Thanks for watching!
My all time favorite special effect/ camera effect ever!
It's a banger!
@@StudioBinder Terrific video about this wonderful effect🎬🎥
Well done StudioBinder
Maybe you should do a piece on how to use creative, innovative techniques like this in such a was so as not to appear as a gimmick.
That's what this series is for!
no one’s gonna talk about how smooth the transition was at 10:25
😉
This channel is perfection! I also began to feel a bit of motion sickness from this vid lol 😂
After so many years seeing it I can finally put a name to this effect and now know how it is done. IRL I occasionally suffer from this effect and next time I'll tell the Dr. "it's a dolly zoom"!!! Thank you for this great video!!!
Very Inspiring. Thank you StudioBinder. The Dolly Zoom aka the Vertigo Effect is an Innovative Experimental technical process in Filmmaking very Inspiring to understand.
only possible in cinema!
Tbe best shot of cinema, everrrr 🙌🏼🙌🏼🤤
they make the cut!
One of my favourite Dolly Zooms in a movie is in Road to Perdition when Jude Law’s skewed character arrives on the scene, the shot is incredible.
Loved it 😊
Great!
Great video
Thanks for watching!
Whose awesome voice over is this? Can I hire you, Sir? I would gladly pay a fortune.
he's with us haha
@@StudioBinder ok ok, but is he in movies? He sounds familiar
Very good video!
Thanks for watching!
I'm really liking the music in the recent videos
Good to hear!
The dolly zoom in Do the Right Thing when Radio Raheem first goes into Sal’s is one of my favorite. When I first saw it, I went back to watch it again. Surprised it wasn’t given as an example.
Good example!
That is a good one, I'll make sure we use it if we ever do a follow up video!
Awesome video Guys . pls cover complex shots like long single take with a lots of different gear changes . thanks😊
Thanks for the suggestion! we did cover 1917's long takes which may interest you! th-cam.com/video/7uwjS7d4ntA/w-d-xo.html
Thanks !! Yes i Did
As always, I enjoy these video lessons as each one broadens my knowledge of composing a film word by word, frame by frame. THANK YOU!!! There is one topic I would like Studio Binder to address, CAMERA SHAKE! I know from my many years of film/television, I have been aware how the camera moves to convey feeling and when the camera moves because of the elements effecting it, ie: wind, submerged in water and vehicle mounted. Can you discuss the history of the camera shake, when it is applied and when it is applied too much! I say this because I was recently watching an episode of Star Wars Mandalorian and Star Trek Picard. I like both shows (season three of Picard) but I not something very distinctive between the two: Mandalorian utilizes a very steady camera in all their scenes whether it is action or conversation situated. Picard's camera shakes in every frame making my eyes constantly refocusing to watch a simple conversation or an action sequence. Maybe I am being picky but camera shake is a very lazy way to shoot a scene when mounting the camera to a person's shoulder versus a tripod. I have heard that some filmmakers use this technique to make the view feel like they are in the scene with the actors. But what I don't understand is that no one head shakes that much to visualize what is a steady scene. I have scene this in modern television and filmmaking which has turned me off to wanting to watch the show. I would appreciate an analysis and opinion of camera shake for Studio Binder, if possible. Thank you for your time and video lesson, stay safe!
totally. I couldn't watch a movie with Sean Penn and Michele Pfeiffer because of the excessive and distracting camera-shake. Shame, 'cuz those are two A-list Hollywood stars!
I also love doing this with my drone
RIGHT ON TIME AS ALWAYS 💖
Always will be ;)
Just as I was thinking about using the dolly zoom in a scene for a short film of mine, this pops ups in my feed when I open the app. Thank you StudioBinder 🙏🏽
Hope it helps!
Superb
Sweet
id like to say I love this channel, thanks a lot for the knowledge you spread
Happy to :)
The parallax effect please. Thank you for all
Thanks for the suggestion!
Thank you Studio Binder!!!
Cheers!
The Duellists(1977) has a really good one in its epilogue with the character Feraud walking up a hill and looking out over the landscape and the camera rises over the hill while doing a dolly in/zoom out to reveal what the character is seeing, very tasteful use of the technique.
Could you guys do an episode on music in films? Something that explores the types of instruments used to evoke specific emotions. I think that would be very interesting
we covered it in our leitmotif video! th-cam.com/video/91IQJEzLHY4/w-d-xo.html
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 was my first memory of how the dolly zoom impacted the scene for me.
Nice!
Thank you again for another superb video!
Cloning this zoom effect for dramatic purpose in many movies makes so much more sense than that poor sheep sharing the same name. Putting this cheap pun aside, I’m also convinced it should only be used rarely for very specific and the most intense moments, revelations or twists to be told within your project. Referring either to storytelling or character psychology. I’m just saying this, because modern films and even your edit shows there’s a recent overuse nowadays for just cinematic effect. Let’s bow to Hitchcock for inventing it and for using it so very pointed.
Yes definitely should be used sparingly
AMAZING!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
🙏🙏
Good one
Thanks!
I’ve always loved the look of the dolly zoom but I was never able to figure out how it worked. Thank you for explaining it in an easy to understand way (and that you for mentioning its somewhat amusing origins 😂)
Brilliant video
Glad you liked it!
0:17 - Rajinikanth & _Enthiran (Robot)_ - Tollywood has entered the room! LOL.
This was excellent; had me spellbound the entire time.
its Kollywood - Tamil movies
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this valuable lesson I will hold forever in the career future as a filmmaker I am forever in your debt
happy filming!
I wonder about this movement for years and i figure out its so simple thank you mr studio binder
Happy filming!
0:17 Enthiran
😍
🧐
@@StudioBinderBro make a video about kamal hassan 🌚
Thanks studio binder for this awesome video,more blessings of making more videos like this
Glad you liked it!
11:44 thanks for letting us see the whole shooting masterpiece😂
I'm writing a script on studiobinder while watching this in the background. It's perfect
That's a winning combo!
It's insane to me how many examples y'all find of things like this
I left no stone unturned in looking for dolly zooms. I really wanted to show more than just the examples used in all the other dolly zoom videos. There were still a good 50-60 I pulled that did not make that cut and many many more beyond that.
it was fun research haha
Enthiran 😌🔥💥
🔥🔥
10:23 What an edit!
You guys really rock! I love the stuff you make. So here‘s my first time request: In the movie ‚The Green Hornet‘ there is a split screen scene where the camera follows some actors, then it‘s divided by split screen and the actions seamless(!) continues simultaneously in different ways in the separated frames! How the hell have they made this? This would be a great explanation in one of your episodes!
Thanks. Lot for the good work!
love the noble attempt at description.. lol
Appreciate the suggestion!
MJ’s ‘Thriller’ is my favourite. It’s the first time I noticed it as a teen just getting into film.
Honestly, the most insane camera work I've seen was in weird gmod animations
amazing compilation of dolly zooms at the beginning
👍👍
I'm here not to get to know about dolly zoom, but to get to know how to use dolly zoom in a cinematic way. You guys do it better than anyone!
That's what we're here for :)
Please make a video on how to and where to creat intermission in the script ?❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for the suggestion!
chingon!
I love this video series, and as a sequel to this I'd love to see a video exclusively on normal and crash zooms.
Thanks for the suggestion!
im always filming my friends with the dolly zoom technique 🤣
That's a fun time haha
hollywwood is really the master of the technique, can you cover the style of John Woo's films next time?
Yeah, I definitely need to watch Raging Bull
The one from Jaws is the most memorable to me
I love two examples that werent included:
- Lord of the Rings when Frodo and His Friends encounter the Ring wraiths for the First time the path in the Wood seems to bend from the Bad Power and danger Frodo can feel without seeing it yet.
- WANTED Intro when the Agent summons energy before running down the hall and jumping out of the window
Those are good ones!
It was really important to me that we used examples outside of the ones used a million times in other dolly zoom videos. We did use one from Return of the King I dont see get mentioned very often though!
i want to be a cinematographer so i whatch your all video
Good luck!
4:25 could anyone tell me what song this is?
i guess it's derek & the dominos - layla (piano exit)
The Steven Speilburg example, overlooking the neighborhood was very very very insightful. tHanks for the video
Cheers!
Cover inserts and low angle
i was just doing research on the dolly zoom, and then my favourite youtube channel posts a video on it! amazing!
edit: please cover the crash zoom next!
Thanks for watching!
this is a very educational video
We hope so!
Please do a video on bot camera use in cinematography.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I knew Vertigo was the origin of the technique, but we never hear about the cinematographer who made it happen. I think of Vertigo every time I see the shot. Most recently see it in Severance to visually tell you when the characters are their other selves.
0:17 SUPERSTAR RAJINI🔥🔥🔥
wow
thanks for watching!
I'm 50 years old. For years I never knew what this shot was called. Every now and then I'd bring it up in conversation to see if anyone knew. They never did. I never wanted to Google it because that seemed like cheating. I wanted to know but I wanted to stumble into it on my own but the question would pop into my head over the years and I just had to figure it out. Then, I overheard a customer talking about it at my job! I was almost afraid to confirm that the effect was indeed called a dolly zoom. It felt like once I got the answer I'd just fade out from existence lol. Now here I am watching videos on dolly zooms.
I saw a scene from the TV the other day where the background is still but the subject looks bigger? Is it still dolly zoom? Is that possible? I do get a vertigo effect but don't normally dolly zoom do the opposite where the background is the one moving
I don't think that would be a dolly zoom then, maybe it was just a push in handheld or with a dolly?
What is the song that starts playing at 4:35?
I'll need to watch this again
As much as you need!
Good job studio binder now talk about filler in story telling
Thanks for the suggestion!
@@StudioBinder sure
10:40 that’s cameraman throwing shadow😂
Does anyone know what program it is at 1:46?
What was the Attica movie?
which movie is that at the end with the dolly zoom by the sniper rifle out the window?
The Sugarland Express
I'm new to film making and i'm trying to figure out how to do dolly with my low budget camera.When I do dolly effect, I lost the focus on subject as i move my camera (i'm using manual focus cuz auto focus isn't good enough) Anyone know how to guide me
thank you
a pure dolly movement might not be possible with your resources, but moving with a gimbal still gets good results. Manual focus is just a matter of practice
the dolly zoom reminds me of the “alice in wonderlans syndrom” that i had a few times when i was a kid