Written by Laurine Virgilli Sunday, 03 May 2009 01:18

Dolly Zoom is a cinematic technique in which the camera moves closer or further from the subject while simultaneously adjusting the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size in the frame.

The effect is achieved by using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout.

In the first video I have created a digital Dolly Zoom effects using After Effects. There are three pre-composed sets of shapes, each 500 pixels away from another. Green, Blue and Red. The camera movements are all 500 pixels. The zoom movements 500 pixels as well.

 

 

Here some cinema examples from Vertigo, Jaws, Poltergeist, Goodfellas, and The Fellowship of the Ring: