dollyzoom

A Closer Look at the Dolly Zoom

The "dolly zoom," also known as the "Hitchcock zoom" or "Vertigo effect," is a filmmaking technique that involves changing a zoom lens' angle of view while moving the camera toward or away from a subject to keep their relative size in the frame the same. Here's a 4-minute video by Now You See It that explains this technique and how (and why) it's used.

How to Create the Dolly Zoom Effect in Post, No Zoom Lens Required

The Dolly Zoom—also known as the Vertigo Effect—is a powerful cinematic technique that involves moving the camera in one direction while you zoom the lens in the opposite direction. But did you know you can actually create this same effect in post without a zoom lens? Thanks to high-res cameras, you can.

This Dizzying Drone Video is the First to Use the ‘Vertigo Effect’

You might want to take some anti-nausea meds before you watch this one. Balance, a film by Tim Sessler and Brandon Bray, is a dizzying, disorienting display of drone cinematography that may just leave you slack jawed. It's also the first drone film we know of to use the famous "vertigo effect," AKA dolly zoom.

Trippy Example of Hitchcock Zoom Shot on a Beach

"Dolly zoom" is a technique that was popularized by Alfred Hitchcock in his film Vertigo, after which it was commonly referred to as "Hitchcock zoom" and the "vertigo effect". The basic idea is to photograph (or film) a subject while moving towards or away from it, and at the same time changing the focal length to keep the subject at the same size in each frame. French photographer Micaël Reynaud used this technique on a beach last year, snapping photos of a stone block at focal lengths ranging from 24mm when he was closest to it to 840mm when he was farthest away.