# What's this camera shot called and what are good examples of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366 "2015-07-28T01:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/1 "2015-07-28T01:40:21Z")
It’s hard to describe, but it’s a shot–usually during a very tense or revealing moment (in an action or thriller movie)–where a person will have the camera slowly zoom in on them while the background (or area around them) will be zooming out at the same time. The result is a very cool-looking shot that looks like the shot is sort of pushing against itself. Does anyone know what the hell I’m talking about here? I know one of these shots happens in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. [Here](https://youtu.be/o4U0wTazs2I?t=35m32s), in fact (right at that second). What’s that specific shot called? Surely there’s got to be a name for it. If someone can tell me, I’ll stop calling you Shirley. Oh, wait, one more question. After it’s figured out what shot I’m talking about…what other movies/shows have this kind of shot? Feel free to link to good examples of them because…well, come on, it’s an awesome looking shot. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/2 "2015-07-28T01:43:35Z")
The “Hitchcock Zoom” or [dolly zoom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_zoom). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/3 "2015-07-28T02:01:26Z")
And called the Hitchcock Zoom/Dolly Zoom or Vertigo Effect because of the movie [Vertigo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je0NhvAQ6fM). If you do a youtube search for any of those terms you’ll come up with countless examples. There was a Breaking Bad episode that featured 2 or 3 of them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/4 "2015-07-28T02:07:15Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Oh, wait, one more question. After it’s figured out what shot I’m talking about…what other movies/shows have this kind of shot? Feel free to link to good examples of them because…well, come on, it’s an awesome looking shot. [Here’s seven of them in one clip.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKJeTaIEldM) Including the one from _Vertigo_, which was literally the first movie to use the technique. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/5 "2015-07-28T02:07:19Z")
Jaws had a reverse effect when Brody is on the beach when the background rushes in on him. (I think. I read it somewhere, and now I’m not sure…) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/6 "2015-07-28T02:07:35Z")
… Heh. Why did I know this was going to be about dolly zooms? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/7 "2015-07-28T04:07:30Z")
It was going to either be that our maybe dutch tilt. FTR, I prefer, “trombone shot” over dolly zoom. I always thought it looked great in [Fellowship of the Ring](http://i.imgur.com/hYsE6OS.gif). ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/8 "2015-07-28T06:07:07Z")
First time I ever saw it was in Poltergeist. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/9 "2015-07-28T06:52:00Z")
You can approximate the effect with a home video camera by walking forward and zooming out at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/10 "2015-07-28T07:13:13Z")
Film teacher explanation at 2M30 (but you may wish to watch from the start) : [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JubfQs7gpT0) This describes the evolution of the dolly zoom : [Evolution of the Dolly Zoom on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/84548119) It’s great for “Oh shit!” moments, whether positive or negative. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/11 "2015-07-28T07:28:36Z")
I think this is the same effect used in the film _La Haine_. [Here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv41W6iyyGs) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/12 "2015-07-28T09:54:58Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Jaws had a reverse effect when Brody is on the beach when the background rushes in on him. (I think. I read it somewhere, and now I’m not sure…) _Jaws_ was the first time I had seen that effect, and it was years, in fact over a decade, before I had it explained to me. You guys don’t know how easy you’ve got it, with your wikipedias and your social medias and suchlike. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/13 "2015-07-28T11:43:18Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Jaws had a reverse effect when Brody is on the beach when the background rushes in on him. (I think. I read it somewhere, and now I’m not sure…) That’s actually the second example in Miller’s video. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/14 "2015-07-28T12:14:58Z")
Yes, I know- I was pointing out something I read about it being a “reversed” example somehow, but then couldn’t find the source. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/15 "2015-07-28T15:21:29Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > First time I ever saw it was in Poltergeist. First thing that jumped to mind, as soon as I read the thread title. “It’s going to be about the Dolly Zoom, like in Poltergeist”. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-camera-shot-called-and-what-are-good-examples-of-it/726366/16 "2015-07-28T15:36:24Z")
I never knew what it was called, but I know the effect and don’t like it. It always seems artificial to me. I can get totally immersed in a movie, but then a dolly shot suddenly yanks me out of it and makes me aware that it’s staged. I know it’s supposed to be dramatic, but it has the opposite effect on me.