Dolly Zoom, Zolly, Vertigo shot… This unusual technique, invented by Alfred Hitchcock in 1958, has what feels like a thousand names. Call it what you want, even 65 years later, it still creates a distinct dramatic impact on the viewers. Undoubtedly, you’ve witnessed the Vertigo effect in action on numerous occasions. However, we won’t just limit ourselves to analyzing movie examples here. We’re going to talk about how to correctly execute the dolly zoom in film, and we will take a look at new ways modern films acquire and develop this cinematic tool. Being an experimenter at heart and a widely-known master of suspense, Hitchcock is said to have first thought of a Dolly Zoom shot during the filming of his “Rebecca” in 1940. Yet, at that time, he couldn’t quite get the hang of the technical side. So, the marvelous invention came to life only 18 years later, in the hands of Irmin Roberts, a Paramount second-unit cameraman. The tale goes that the Director approached him at a party and asked his help in creating a shot that could transfer a feeling of being drunk. True or not, the brainchild of Hitchcock brought a completely new tool to the cinematographic table and will forever carry his name. Starting with a dolly However, before we dive into tricks on how to create a powerful Hitchcock shot and when to use it, let’s take a step back. Every complicated camera motion (and this one is definitely among the hard nuts to...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 16 February, 2024