Dolly zoom
[6] Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject.
Some 18 years later, success came through Irmin Roberts, a Paramount second-unit cameraman, who devised the proper method for Hitchcock's film Vertigo.
[7] It is thought that Alfred Hitchcock specifically asked Roberts to assist him in creating a shot that exemplifies being in a drunk state after fainting at a party.
[8] At the time, Roberts had already designed a special camera capable of fast focal lens changes that allowed short-range projections.
For example, in Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead, a dolly zoom, coupled with a Dutch angle shot, exemplifies drama between an intense shootout.
An uneasy feeling of suspense can also be signified through a dolly zoom, most notably used in the movie Split in 2016, where Casey Cooke peers off into the distance in unwanted curiosity.
Directors may also decide to use the dolly zoom as an alternative to the generic wide shot in order to give sufficient exposition on the upcoming scene.
The technique does not necessarily need to be used for aesthetic or narrative reasons; it can serve as a way to seamlessly transition between two focal lengths to take advantage of the different perspective distortion of each angle of view.
Here, the effect is used to avoid a compromise that would otherwise be necessary: a longer focal length throughout the shot would show less of the surrounding streetscape, and a wider one would introduce distortion that would make Mikey appear smaller than Junior.
The technique allows the cinematographers to achieve the framing and perspective they want at both ends of an extended take without needing to introduce an additional cut into the scene or disturbing the viewer's immersion by making the movements of the camera more apparent.
In Jaws (1975), the famous "Get Out Of The Water" scene contains a dolly zoom that focuses on Martin Brody's shocking realization of a shark on the beach.
[12] In Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese uses dolly zoom shot to disorient the audience and put them in Jake LaMotta's shoes, and thus creating a vertigo effect.
This shot is most famously employed in Henry's dive into paranoia, where he eats at a diner with Jimmy while tracking a window to see if anybody has been following him.
Throughout the film, dolly zooms are used extensively to highlight the bonding between two characters, such as when Remy feels a personal connection with Chef Gusteau on television.
[14] The AppleTV+ series Severance uses the dolly zoom to represent when an employee transitions between their "innie" company persona at work and their "outie" real world self.
