View source for Dolly zoom

{{Short description|In-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception}}
[[File:DollyZoomTest.ogv|right|thumb|Computer-generated representation of a dolly zoom]]
[[File:Contra-zoom aka dolly zoom animation.gif|thumb|Frame from an animation showing a dolly zoom being performed. At the top of the image is the camera's view; the cubes stay the same size as the teapots in the background grow bigger. At the bottom of the image is a plan view showing the camera moving back while zooming in, illustrating how the effect is achieved.]]
[[File:Vertigo vs non vertigo.webm|thumb|In the video inset, the object moves with the camera and it does not zoom, so the FOV does not change; thus there is no dolly effect.]]

A '''dolly zoom''' (also known as a '''Hitchcock shot''',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Truffaut|first1=François|author1-link=François Truffaut|last2=Scott|first2=Helen G.|title=Hitchcock|title-link=Hitchcock/Truffaut|date=1985|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|page=246|isbn=9780671604295}}</ref><ref name="holland">{{cite web|url = http://users.clas.ufl.edu/nholland/vertigo.htm|title = Hitchcock's ''Vertigo'': One Viewer's Viewing|author = Norman Holland| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101040541/http://users.clas.ufl.edu/nholland/vertigo.htm | archive-date=2015-01-01 |author-link=Norman N. Holland}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/stills-vertigo/shot.html|title = The "Vertigo shot" and the oneiric frame|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070915074113/http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/stills-vertigo/shot.html|archive-date = 2007-09-15}}</ref> '''''Vertigo'' shot''',<ref name=S/><ref name="holland"/> '''''Jaws'' effect''',<ref name=S/>
or '''Zolly shot'''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hardy |first1=Rob |title=Everything You Need to Know About the Dolly Zoom |url=https://nofilmschool.com/2014/01/everything-need-know-dolly-zoom |website=nofilmschool.com |publisher=No Film School |access-date=June 17, 2020 |date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>) is an [[in-camera effect]] that appears to undermine normal [[visual perception]].

The effect is achieved by [[Zooming (filmmaking)|zooming]] a [[zoom lens]] to adjust the [[angle of view]] (often referred to as [[field of view]], or FOV) while the camera dollies (moves) toward or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. The zoom shifts from a wide-angle view into a more tightly packed angle. In its classic form, the [[camera angle]] is pulled away from a subject while the lens zooms in, or vice versa. The dolly zoom's switch in lenses can help audiences identify the visual difference between [[wide-angle lens]]es and [[telephoto lens]]es.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Shields |first=Meg |date=2021-01-03 |title=How Does the Dolly Zoom Work? |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/dolly-zoom/ |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=Film School Rejects |language=en-US}}</ref> Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous [[perspective distortion]], the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject. Hence, the dolly zoom effect can be broken down into three main components: the moving direction of the camera, the dolly speed, and the camera lens' focal length.<ref name=":3" />

The visual appearance for the viewer is that either the background suddenly grows in size and detail and overwhelms the foreground, or the foreground becomes immense and dominates its previous setting, depending on which way the dolly zoom is executed. As the human visual system uses both size and perspective cues to judge the relative sizes of objects, seeing a perspective change without a size change is a highly unsettling effect, often with strong emotional impact.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==History==
The effect was first conceived by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] during the filming of 1940's ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]'', but he was unable to achieve the desired results. Some 18 years later, success came through Irmin Roberts, a [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] [[Second unit|second-unit]] cameraman, who devised the proper method for Hitchcock's film ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2012/05/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-alfred-hitchcocks-masterpiece-vertigo-110734/|title=5 Things You Might Not Know About Alfred Hitchcock's Masterpiece 'Vertigo'|last=Lyttelton|first=Oliver|date=2012-05-09|website=IndieWire|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref> It is thought that Alfred Hitchcock specifically asked Roberts to assist him in creating a shot that exemplifies being in a drunk state after fainting at a party.<ref name=":22">{{YouTube|title=The Dizzying History of the Dolly Zoom|id=eNFt_Gbewn0}} {{retrieved|access-date=2023-03-15}}</ref> At the time, Roberts had already designed a special camera capable of fast focal lens changes that allowed short-range projections. His expertise in focal lenses most likely prompted his innovation of the dolly zoom, which was more popularly recognized as the "trombone shot" or "contra zoom". Despite this step forward for [[cinematography]], Roberts was not properly credited at the end of ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nzpete |date=2014-06-02 |title=Matte Shot – a tribute to Golden Era special fx: The Unseen World of the Visual Effects Cinematographer: A Tribute to Irmin Roberts, ASC |url=http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-unseen-world-of-visual-effects.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Matte Shot – a tribute to Golden Era special fx}}</ref> However, this shot has since been used in many other films, including ''[[Goodfellas]]'',<ref>{{YouTube|MeyjyZ6UZII|This Is How a Dolly Zoom Works}}, Fandor</ref> ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'',<ref name=S>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=January 21, 2014|title='The Evolution of the Dolly Zoom', in One Supercut|last=Wickman|first=Forrest|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/01/21/dolly_zoom_supercut_video_shows_the_vertigo_effect_in_jaws_goodfellas_raging.html}}</ref> and the ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|Lord of the Rings]]'' films. [[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]] uses the effect twice in one shot in ''[[Chinese Roulette]]'' (1976). Director Joe Dante referred to it as the "Jaws Shot" since the scene in Jaws, when Roy Scheider sees the shark attack of the little boy Alex, is the most famous use of this shot.

=== Uses ===
[[File:Vertigo Dollyzoom.gif|thumb|The first dolly zoom used in ''Vertigo'' by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by Irmin Roberts]]
Among the many creative uses the dolly zoom can provide to [[cinematographers]], the shot can be divided into two types: the dolly-in/zoom-out and the dolly-out/zoom-in. The dolly-in/zoom-out shot is usually centered on a subject, where the background is pushed away from the character to create a profuse amount of uneasiness. For example, [[Poltergeist (1982 film)|''Poltergeist'']]'s famous dolly zoom stretches the background to make it seem as if the door is much farther away from the character than it actually is. In contrast, the dolly-out/zoom-in shot shrinks the background to seem much closer than it really is.<ref name=":3"/>

The dolly zoom is commonly used by filmmakers to represent the sensation of [[vertigo]], a "falling-away-from-oneself feeling" or a feeling of unreality, or to suggest that a character is undergoing a realization that causes them to reassess everything they had previously believed. In general, the dolly zoom's amplification of emotion is a special effect that compliments a director's arsenal of creativity. For example, in Sam Raimi's ''[[The Quick and the Dead (1995 film)|The Quick and the Dead]]'', a dolly zoom, coupled with a [[Dutch angle]] shot, exemplifies drama between an intense [[shootout]]. An uneasy feeling of suspense can also be signified through a dolly zoom, most notably used in the movie ''[[Split (2016 American film)|Split]]'' in 2016, where Casey Cooke peers off into the distance in unwanted curiosity. Other uses include demonstrating overwhelming fear or important epiphanies for a character.<ref name=":22"/> The dolly zoom can also be utilized for the purposes of tonal shifts within the film. This was most exemplified in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', where [[Peter Jackson]] chained events together with more flare as opposed to a regular transition. Directors may also decide to use the dolly zoom as an alternative to the generic [[wide shot]] in order to give sufficient [[Exposition (narrative)|exposition]] on the upcoming scene.

The technique does not necessarily need to be used for aesthetic or narrative
reasons; it can serve as a way to seamlessly transition between two focal
lengths to take advantage of the different perspective distortion of each angle
of view. In the 12th episode of the first season of [[The Sopranos]], a dolly
zoom is used during a twenty-second shot that displays the character Mikey
Palmice talking to two hitmen on a street corner at its start and ends with the camera
looking into the interior of a car to capture his discussion with his boss
Junior Soprano, who is parked close by.<ref>{{Cite web
| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoBC3xC1Mjw?t=87s
| title= The Sopranos - Donnie gets Whacked
| website=YouTube
}}</ref>
The shot follows Mikey's short walk between the two settings, and the camera
pans to the side and [[Tracking shot|tracks]] backwards away from Junior's car,
causing the background to "grow" in size as the cinematographer zooms the lens
in and the camera moves backwards. Here, the effect is used to avoid a
compromise that would otherwise be necessary: a longer focal length throughout
the shot would show less of the surrounding streetscape, and a wider one would
introduce distortion that would make Mikey appear smaller than Junior. The
technique allows the cinematographers to achieve the framing and perspective
they want at both ends of an extended take without needing to introduce an additional
cut into the scene or disturbing the viewer's [[Audience immersion|immersion]] by making the movements of the camera more apparent.

=== Notable examples ===
In [[Jaws (film)|''Jaws'']] (1975), the famous "Get Out Of The Water" scene contains a dolly zoom that focuses on Martin Brody's shocking realization of a shark on the beach.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnLUa7V9Sm8C&pg=PA65 |title=Maya® Secrets of the ProsTM |first1=John |last1=Kundert-Gibbs |first2=Dariush |last2=Derakhshani |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |date=20 February 2006 |page=65 |isbn=9780782150612}}</ref>

In ''[[Raging Bull]]'' (1980), [[Martin Scorsese]] uses dolly zoom shot to disorient the audience and put them in Jake LaMotta's shoes, and thus creating a vertigo effect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hellerman |first=Jason |date=June 21, 2023 |title=How Does Martin Scorsese Block and Shoot a Scene? |url=https://nofilmschool.com/how-does-martin-scorsese-block-and-shoot-scene |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706224608/https://nofilmschool.com/how-does-martin-scorsese-block-and-shoot-scene |archive-date=July 6, 2023|access-date=November 14, 2023|website=nofilmschool}}</ref>

In ''[[Goodfellas]]'' (1990), Scorsese uses dolly zooms to convey tensions between characters. This shot is most famously employed in Henry's dive into [[paranoia]], where he eats at a diner with Jimmy while tracking a window to see if anybody has been following him.<ref name=":0">{{YouTube|title=The Dolly Zoom: More Than A Cheap Trick|id=u5JBlwlnJX0}} {{retrieved|access-date=2023-03-15}}</ref>

In ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (2001), [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] stands by as a dolly zoom signifies an entrance of an enemy from the woods.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgmlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |title=Camera Tricks |first=Sara |last=Green |publisher=Bellwether Media |date=1 August 2019 |page=21 |isbn=9781681035871}}</ref>

In ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'' (2004), a dolly zoom places comedic emphasis on Shaun's bravery, which ultimately fails when his shotgun jams.<ref name=":0" />

In [[Ratatouille (film)|''Ratatouille'']] (2007), the food critic Anton Ego has an intense flashback, signified through a dolly zoom, towards his childhood days after eating Remy's [[ratatouille]]. Throughout the film, dolly zooms are used extensively to highlight the bonding between two characters, such as when Remy feels a personal connection with Chef Gusteau on television.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Apple TV+|AppleTV+]] series ''[[Severance (TV series)|Severance]]'' uses the dolly zoom to represent when an employee transitions between their "innie" company persona at work and their "outie" real world self.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Severance Pulled Off One of the Most Quietly Disturbing Sets on TV - Assemble |url=https://www.onassemble.com/blog/severance |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.onassemble.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Optics ==
{{see also|Perspective distortion}}

For most purposes, it can be assumed that the image space and the object space are in the same medium. Thus, for an object in focus, the distance between the lens and [[image plane]] <math>s_\text{i}</math>, the distance between lens and the object <math>s_\text{o}</math>, and the [[focal length]] <math>f</math> are related by

:<math>{1 \over s_i} + {1 \over s_o} = {1 \over f}.</math>

Then the transverse magnification is

:<math>M = {s_\text{i} \over s_\text{o}} = {f \over (s_\text{o} - f)}.</math>

The ''axial magnification'' <math>M_\text{ax}</math> of an object at <math>s_\text{o}</math> is the rate of change of the lens–image distance <math>s_\text{i}</math> as the lens–object distance <math>s_\text{o}</math> changes. For an object of finite depth, one can conceive of the ''average'' axial magnification as the ratio of the depth of the image and the depth of the object:

:<math>M_\text{ax} = \left| {d \over d(s_\text{o})} {s_\text{i} \over s_\text{o}} \right| = \left| {d \over d(s_\text{o})} {f \over (s_\text{o} - f)} \right| = \left| {-f \over (s_\text{o} - f)^2} \right| = {M^2 \over f}.</math>

One can see that if magnification remains constant, a longer focal length results in a smaller axial magnification, and a smaller focal length in a larger axial magnification. That is, when using a longer focal length while moving the camera/lens away from the object to maintain the same magnification ''M'', objects seem shallower, and the axial distances between objects seem shorter. The opposite—increased axial magnification—happens with shorter focal lengths while moving the camera/lens towards the object.

===Calculating distances===

To achieve the effect, the camera needs to be positioned at a certain distance from the object that is supposed to remain still during the dolly zoom. The distance depends on how wide the scene is to be filmed and on the [[field of view]] (FOV) of the camera lens. Before calculating the distances needed at the different fields of view, the constant width of the scene has to be calculated:

:<math> \text{distance} = \frac{\text{width}}{2\tan\left(\frac{1}{2}\text{FOV}\right)}.</math>

For example, a FOV of 90° and a distance of 2 meters yield a constant width of 4 meters, allowing a 4-meter-wide object to remain still inside the frame during the effect.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Cinematic techniques}}

[[Category:Special effects]]
[[Category:Cinematography]]
[[Category:Cinematic techniques]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Alfred Hitchcock]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]
[[Category:Film and video terminology]]