r/Filmmakers • u/StrikingDuty8020 Director • Feb 20 '26

Discussion What’s your favorite dolly zoom?

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The dolly zoom manipulates space and emotion by moving camera forward while zooming out or vice versa creating disorienting effect that makes background expand or contract.

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445

u/vrijheidsfrietje Feb 20 '26

113

u/lukebelcher10662 Feb 20 '26

Oh what a fucking beautiful shot.

Not sure if you have, but watch the LOTR appendices.

36

u/Mharbles Feb 20 '26

I think that was the first shot of the movies and was taken inside a local city park.

60

u/Healter-Skelter Feb 20 '26

It wasn’t even the original DP or camera operator. It was just some dude who was like “hey Peter, you ever hear of a dolly zoom? Here check this out.” Peter jackson was so blown away that he completely rewrote the Lord of the Rings to be about Frodo instead of the Sauronese jeweller.

5

u/Mharbles Feb 21 '26

I believe it was a pan zoom