The vertigo shot is a camera effect, coined by the movie "Vertigo". This shot is made possible by utilizing the dolly zoom. The effect of the dolly zoom, is being able to see a target object with a changing field of view. This effect is employed by using a combination of camera movement and changing the zoom of the camera. As the camera gets closer to the target object, we zoom out the camera lens to keep the target object the same size. As the camera gets farther away from the object, we zoom in onto the target object for the same reason.
For this project, I used a Nikon D750 with a Nikon 24-120mm lens. Additionally, I used a tripod to help maintain consistency between each frame of the dolly zoom sequence. Below is a picture of the camera.
The first location that I chose was an indoors location, where I could ensure that the lighting would remain constant as I learned how to employ the effect. The location can be seen below.
The biggest difficulty that I found in this location was finding a way to move the camera by a consistent amount between each shot. I solved this by using my shoe as a rough unit of measurement, and moving the entire camera setup closer to the object.
The second location that I chose was an outdoors location that I found while exploring the UC Berkeley campus. What I prioritized here was finding a location that had good scenery, as well as a place where I could place my subject. The location can be seen below.
The biggest difficulty that I found in this location was dealing with the uneven ground that the tripod rested on. Unlike the indoors location, I was able to create a way to consistently move the camera, by marking a line that the tripod would follow, as seen in the picture above.
For the indoors location, I decided to move the camera in a straight line towards the target object. The finished dolly zoom can be seen below.
For the outdoors location, I decided to be more creative (see bells and whistles) and move the camera along a line directed off to the side of the target object.
The photographer's perspective of the shot can be seen below.
The finished dolly zoom can be seen below.
What I noticed that the each frame of the dolly zoom did not appear to be uniform in difference, despite a uniform movement of the camera in between frames.
Below are the images that I used to create each gif.
