WEBVTT 00:00:00.083 --> 00:00:01.208 The Dolly Zoom is one of the 00:00:01.208 --> 00:00:04.208 most disorienting and flashy camera techniques of all time. 00:00:05.750 --> 00:00:08.833 And it shows up in some of the most beloved scenes in cinematic history. 00:00:08.875 --> 00:00:12.083 It's famous for its bizarre look, but the shot also teaches us a lot 00:00:12.083 --> 00:00:12.958 about filmmaking. 00:00:12.958 --> 00:00:15.208 It shows the different kind of lenses and how to use them. 00:00:15.208 --> 00:00:16.833 It enhances the emotion of a scene, 00:00:16.833 --> 00:00:19.875 and it can be used in subtle places you may not have even noticed. 00:00:19.916 --> 00:00:21.375 Let's see how. 00:00:22.125 --> 00:00:24.000 The Dolly Zoom, or sometimes called the Vertigo 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:27.041 Effect started in Hitchcock's film Vertigo in 1958. 00:00:27.083 --> 00:00:28.166 You need a smooth track 00:00:28.166 --> 00:00:31.416 and steady zoom to pull it off nicely, which is why it wasn't developed sooner. 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:34.416 The shot is essentially an optical illusion caused by zooming in 00:00:34.416 --> 00:00:37.708 or out on the camera lens while tracking the camera forward or backward. 00:00:37.750 --> 00:00:40.875 The result is the foreground stays in the same position while the background 00:00:40.875 --> 00:00:43.916 appears to squeeze or stretch, depending on which direction you go. 00:00:43.958 --> 00:00:45.916 It actually teaches an important principle of filming. 00:00:45.916 --> 00:00:46.583 Camera Lens: 00:00:46.583 --> 00:00:48.375 If you ever wanted to see the difference between wide 00:00:48.375 --> 00:00:52.041 angle and telephoto lenses, a simplified example would be to observe a dolly zoom. 00:00:52.166 --> 00:00:53.916 Compare how it begins to how it ends. 00:00:53.916 --> 00:00:56.250 The dolly zoom shot can start like a telephoto lens 00:00:56.250 --> 00:00:58.625 where the camera is far away and the focal length is bigger. 00:00:58.666 --> 00:00:59.833 There's less background in sight 00:00:59.833 --> 00:01:02.250 because the lens concentrates on a smaller portion of it. 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:04.708 But when you change focal lengths by zooming out while 00:01:04.750 --> 00:01:08.000 also pushing the camera forward, you can observe more of the background 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000 while keeping the foreground in the same place. 00:01:10.041 --> 00:01:11.750 The result is filming the same thing, 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:14.208 but the camera expands to see more of the background. 00:01:14.291 --> 00:01:16.708 The change in focal length takes in a wider area, 00:01:16.708 --> 00:01:19.208 so you go from a telephoto shot to a wide angle shot. 00:01:19.291 --> 00:01:23.000 You generally use telephoto in close ups to keep attention on the foreground. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.500 When you move the camera around while using a telephoto lens, 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:26.125 the background, 00:01:26.125 --> 00:01:27.750 which is quickly behind the foreground, 00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:30.083 because the camera takes in less of the background. 00:01:30.083 --> 00:01:31.583 It makes for some pretty cool shots. 00:01:31.583 --> 00:01:33.791 People also tend to look better in telephoto 00:01:33.791 --> 00:01:36.125 because their faces aren't stretched by the wider lens. 00:01:36.166 --> 00:01:38.000 Wide angle takes in more of the background, 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.208 so it's better for outdoor shots when you want to capture the landscape. 00:01:41.208 --> 00:01:42.583 So each lens is a tradeoff. 00:01:42.583 --> 00:01:46.166 The Dolly Zoom captures the transition from one kind of lens shot to the other, 00:01:46.166 --> 00:01:48.541 and it leads to different emotional responses for the viewer. 00:01:48.583 --> 00:01:50.916 Vertigo uses the dolly zoom to give a sense of height. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:54.541 This increase in height perfectly embodies how the telephoto has a more narrow 00:01:54.541 --> 00:01:55.625 view of the background. 00:01:55.625 --> 00:01:58.541 So we go from capturing a lot of the background to capturing very little. 00:01:58.583 --> 00:02:00.833 The result is a dizzying optical illusion. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.083 The shot is unsettling, even a little bit nauseating for some, because it's 00:02:04.083 --> 00:02:07.875 physically impossible to experience without some kind of lens alteration. 00:02:07.875 --> 00:02:08.500 In Goodfellas, 00:02:08.500 --> 00:02:10.375 the diner scene becomes all the more confusing 00:02:10.375 --> 00:02:12.916 as the landscape shifts around them in impossible ways. 00:02:12.958 --> 00:02:15.833 Just as Henry's world is crushing and his paranoia grows, 00:02:15.833 --> 00:02:19.166 the impossible movement of the diner shows just how disoriented he feels. 00:02:19.250 --> 00:02:22.250 The zoom makes the world literally closing around him as getting caught 00:02:22.250 --> 00:02:23.500 seems almost inevitable. 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.625 As I mentioned before, the wide angle lens makes people look a bit off. 00:02:26.625 --> 00:02:30.000 With the famous dolly zoom in Jaws, the shot shifts to a wide angle look, 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:30.875 which makes his face 00:02:30.875 --> 00:02:33.083 look just a bit more stretched and unnatural, 00:02:33.083 --> 00:02:35.916 and it unconsciously adds to the rest of the trickiness of the shot. 00:02:35.958 --> 00:02:37.708 Those three examples Vertigo, Jaws 00:02:37.708 --> 00:02:41.500 and Goodfellas are the go to examples whenever anybody mentions the dolly zoom. 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:42.958 The problem is that when teaching the shot, 00:02:42.958 --> 00:02:46.041 the examples usually stop there, which is a shame because it makes the shot 00:02:46.041 --> 00:02:48.250 seem like a one off effect for legendary movies, 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:50.750 but it's actually a lot more versatile and common than that. 00:02:50.750 --> 00:02:52.625 It's out of this world visual look makes it 00:02:52.625 --> 00:02:55.750 commonly used for the supernatural or the feeling of a drug trip. 00:02:55.750 --> 00:02:58.291 I particularly enjoy its use in The Lord of the Rings 00:02:58.291 --> 00:03:00.291 because the widening of the holes in the trees 00:03:00.333 --> 00:03:03.750 gives the visual feeling that the forest is opening up a portal for the enemy 00:03:03.750 --> 00:03:04.333 to come. 00:03:04.333 --> 00:03:07.000 It's almost always used at a movie's climactic, epic moment. 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.500 So if your hero fails, it adds to the punchline. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.750 The shot has even found its way into animation. 00:03:14.750 --> 00:03:16.875 Brad Bird uses it extensively in his films. 00:03:16.916 --> 00:03:19.750 The food critic flashback gets enhanced with a dolly zoom effect 00:03:19.750 --> 00:03:22.333 to simulate the transportation from one world to another. 00:03:22.375 --> 00:03:25.750 Animation, particularly computer generated, has a distinct opportunity 00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:26.541 to use the photo 00:03:26.541 --> 00:03:30.333 in interesting ways because of animations complete control of object placement. 00:03:30.333 --> 00:03:32.166 As Remy relates to Chef Gusteau 00:03:32.166 --> 00:03:35.416 the dolly zoom is no longer used to disorient the viewer, but to show them 00:03:35.416 --> 00:03:38.625 get physically closer together, indicating a relationship is born. 00:03:38.708 --> 00:03:41.625 The Incredibles has a seemingly impossible dolly zoom as Mrs. 00:03:41.625 --> 00:03:43.541 Incredible gets closer to the temptation. 00:03:43.541 --> 00:03:46.541 Both instances are nondisruptive, but also draw our attention 00:03:46.541 --> 00:03:49.416 to certain parts of the shot with its trademark squeezing effect. 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:52.833 The dolly zoom is certainly a fantastical shot at the disposal of the filmmaker, 00:03:52.833 --> 00:03:54.708 but remember, it's more than just a cheap trick. 00:03:54.708 --> 00:03:56.208 Alfred Hitchcock used it for depth. 00:03:56.208 --> 00:03:59.916 Scorsese He used it to show paranoia, and Brad Bird used it for visual cues. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.458 So be on the lookout for it. Thanks for watching.