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Dolly Zoom

Use these four tricks for cinematic dolly shots on the cheap

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Dolly shots are among the basics when it comes to cinematic camera movement. But if you’re just starting out, buying a proper camera dolly could be a bit of an overkill. So, why not turn to cheap, even free options, at least for a start? Caleb of Wondershare Filmora has a few ideas how to do it and still get those sweet, cinematic shots in your video.

The goal is not only to have your camera slide in different directions but also to minimize camera shake while doing so. Caleb proposes a few options that could do the trick, and you already have at least one of them at home.

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Spielberg films his first ever music video, in a school gym, with an iPhone

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What happens when an award-winning director and a musician get together in a school gym with an iPhone? Well, from the looks of this latest music video released by Mumford of his song ‘Cannibal’, you get a pretty slick yet incredibly low-budget music video!

Steven Spielberg directed and filmed his first ever music video with Marcus Mumford. It was filmed and released just this month, and it’s honestly both pretty great and also quite reassuring at the same time! It’s also a one-take video, which is awesome.

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This video shows how focal length and zooming affect subject-background relationship in your photos

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I believe you already know that “zooming with your feet” and changing the focal length can affect the relationship between your subject and the background. In this short video, you can see the effect of both coming close to the subject and changing the focal length, and how it affects the final look of your image.

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The definitive guide to focal length, perspective, and why “zooming with your feet” is nonsense

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Perspective distortion seems to be one of the most confusing topics in photography. There are all kinds of erroneous “facts” about it. Like focal length being that which distorts your subject, and not the distance to the subject. Well, this video from This Place puts that myth well and truly to rest and also illustrates why “zooming with your feet” is the dumbest phrase in photography.

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How to create the Hitchcock Vertigo dolly zoom effect with any drone

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The Hitchcock zoom, Vertigo effect, dolly zoom, it has a bunch of different names depending on who you ask. But it’s all the same thing. Moving the camera away from your subject while zooming in. Or, bringing the camera closer to your subject while zooming out. It’s a very difficult technique to master, but today we have digital options to make life easier and simulate it in post.

In this video from Tom’s Tech Time, we see one way to create this effect using footage from just about any drone. Of course, the higher the resolution, the better the overall quality will be, but the principle can be applied to any of them.

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How to create the dolly zoom effect without a zoom lens

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The dolly zoom, also known as the “Vertigo Effect” or “Hitchcock Zoom” can be an amazing technique to add tension or drama to a scene. It’s a process whereby the camera is dollied in toward your subject while the lens zooms out wide. Or, the reverse, where the camera moves away from your subject while the lens zooms in.

It’s a difficult technique to master, and almost impossible if shooting on your own. You have to move the camera, adjust the zoom of the lens, and try to keep your subject in focus all at the same time. This video from Lewis McGregor shows a technique to create a similar effect without doing any zooming whatsoever. But, there is a caveat. It won’t really work if your camera only shoots 1080p.

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This drone video uses the Hitchcock Zoom technique for beautiful but dizzying results

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The Hitchcock Zoom, also known as the dolly zoom, the Vertigo effect, reverse tracking shot, triple reverse zoom, the trombone effect, as well as countless other names, is the process of simultaneously moving the camera while zooming the lens to keep your subject a constant size within the frame while the environment gets larger or smaller.

This is not an easy trick to pull off, which goes a long way towards explaining why we’ve never seen this effect used with drone footage before.  Now, thanks to a collaboration between Tim Sessler, Brandon Bray, Brooklyn Aerials, and Freefly Systems, titled Balance, we can finally see this beautiful effect used from the air.

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