Vertigo

Christopher Swenson · February 15, 2005

I'm trying to get the "Vertigo" effect in one of my shots down a long hallway. what is the best way to get this effect. I don't have money for a track system basically all I have is a tripod and old wheel chair and a flat bed dolly to my use. Do I have to move my camera in and zoom out or move my camera out and zoom in. or do I have it wrong all together.

Adam Frisch FSF · February 15, 2005

You got it right - normally one dollies out and pulls in, but you can do the opposite. I think GoodFellas started tight and dollied in in the last scenes between DeNiro and Liotta at the cafe.

Chris Keth · February 16, 2005

Whicyh way depends on the effect you want. Starting tight and dollying in will make the space seem to grow around the actor(s) and the sense of depth down the hallway will increase. Doing it the other way 'round will flatten the sense of depth and make the hallway feel more constricting.

Rik Andino · February 16, 2005

Make sure your AC and your Dolly Grip are in-synch or in-tuned...or whatever

Or else it'll be take after take after take---TAKE 23 WTF! :blink:

It's can be that time comsuming (if not more) :unsure:

Jeremy · February 16, 2005

If you're doing it with a wheelchair, you might need take after take. I watched dailies of doing the same thing once, and they burned through a lot of film. They also didn't have an AC on the shoot, though.

You could also build some track out of PVC pipe, a flat piece of wood and some skateboard wheels for the dolly. OR you could rent a dolly fairly cheaply. You can find a doorway dolly without track for $35 at some rental places.

pkbissen · February 18, 2005

this is the best advice you'll get...don't do it.

student filmmakers always try this shot beause they learn about in school and think it's cool. i've never seen it executed well by a student even with professional dollies.

this technique is one of the flashiest and really calls attenion to itself. it's really hard to motivate a shot like this.

you can look at goodfellas as stated early, jaws (obviously), and road to perdition (when jude law's character is introduced) for examples.

again...i highly recommend not using this technique as it will make your student film look and feel like a student film.

on the other hand, the dolly in zoom in works for me. check goodfellas (de niro in the phone booth hearing the news that pesci got wacked), boogies nights or magnolia.

Chris Keth · February 18, 2005

this is the best advice you'll get...don't do it.

student filmmakers always try this shot beause they learn about in school and think it's cool. i've never seen it executed well by a student even with professional dollies.

this technique is one of the flashiest and really calls attenion to itself. it's really hard to motivate a shot like this.

you can look at goodfellas as stated early, jaws (obviously), and road to perdition (when jude law's character is introduced) for examples.

again...i highly recommend not using this technique as it will make your student film look and feel like a student film.

on the other hand, the dolly in zoom in works for me. check goodfellas (de niro in the phone booth hearing the news that pesci got wacked), boogies nights or magnolia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I feel just the opposite. You're a student. Be adventurous and don't be afraid to fu** up. If you do it and it sucks, you learned something. Nobody ever learned anything in art by being a conservative pussy.

Brent J. Craig · February 18, 2005

This type of shot is one of the most difficult for a focus puller. The depth of field is changing in strange ways throughout the shot and to do it right requires a near-perfect focus pull.

The best way we have ever done it is with a Scorpio lens control system and an encoder gear on the dolly track. You go through the move and set your focus and zoom at various points, then the Scorpio plays it back as you move the dolly. It is quite time consuming to set up, and if one thing changes (like the actor's mark) you have to start from the beginning again.

The method above is definitely not a low budget solution, unless you have a very understanding rental house!

Edited February 18, 2005 by Brent J. Craig

Chris Keth · February 19, 2005

This type of shot is one of the most difficult for a focus puller. The depth of field is changing in strange ways throughout the shot and to do it right requires a near-perfect focus pull.

The best way we have ever done it is with a Scorpio lens control system and an encoder gear on the dolly track. You go through the move and set your focus and zoom at various points, then the Scorpio plays it back as you move the dolly. It is quite time consuming to set up, and if one thing changes (like the actor's mark) you have to start from the beginning again.

The method above is definitely not a low budget solution, unless you have a very understanding rental house!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I did it and I had my dolly grip and focus puller hit certain marks at 1 second intervals. We marked everything out and did it several times so they got the rhythm in their heads. It worked pretty well since the time is something they can count in their heads and repeat with decent accuracy.

Nate Downes · February 19, 2005

I don't get what is the hard part tho. I've done this shot a dozen times, and even added some novel twists to it on my colleges old Mitchell by changing the DOF at the same time thanks to widening the shutter, raising the f-stops, changing the focus, dollying, and zooming. Now that was fun, let me tell you!

Jeremy · February 19, 2005

I don't get what is the hard part tho. I've done this shot a dozen times, and even added some novel twists to it on my colleges old Mitchell by changing the DOF at the same time thanks to widening the shutter, raising the f-stops, changing the focus, dollying, and zooming. Now that was fun, let me tell you!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't suppose you have any clips of that that you could post? I honestly hadn't thought of that (I also don't usually do this shot, though), and that would be interesting to see. I can picture it in my head, and I know what it would look like, but I'm trying to think of an instance when I've seen that.

batman_dan · February 20, 2005

Would you please expand on this

You could also build some track out of PVC pipe, a flat piece of wood and some skateboard wheels for the dolly. OR you could rent a dolly fairly cheaply. You can find a doorway dolly without track for $35 at some rental places.

This may be helpful for my High School program, and would be appreciated if you expanded on the track idea with the pvc pipe ect.

:ph34r:

Edited February 20, 2005 by batman_dan