Zoom In/Out
The camera does not move; only the lens’s focal length changes, so the subject grows or shrinks. Going toward telephoto is a zoom in; going toward wide is a zoom out. It magnifies the view from the same spot, so the perspective and overlap of near and far objects do not change. That is why it feels less like moving closer and more like peering in from a distance.
How it feels
- Focus
- Tension
- Observation
- Reveal
- Distance
When to use it
- Drawing attention to a clue or object on a table
- Zooming out to reveal the room or landscape around a character
- Giving the feel of a hidden observer watching
- Filming subjects you cannot approach, as in documentaries or sports broadcasts
In the movies
Wings 1927
Given as an example of a zoom shot in Columbia’s film glossary.
Taxi Driver 1976
Listed alongside it as a zoom shot example in the same Columbia glossary.
Not to be confused with
- Dolly In/Out
- In a dolly the camera actually moves closer, so near things grow faster than far things and the background perspective changes. In a zoom the perspective stays the same.
- Dolly Zoom
- It dollies and zooms in opposite directions at once, so the character stays the same size while only the background stretches or shrinks.
- Crash Zoom
- The same principle, but it pulls in roughly, in an instant. Used for shock or comic emphasis.
Prompt
slow zoom in
Slow zoom in. The camera stays perfectly still while the lens zooms in, magnifying the subject from a full figure to the waist up without any change in perspective.
Try these combinations
Slow zoom in: a mysterious artifact
Slow zoom in on a mysterious artifact on a table, dim candlelight, dust in the air
Zoom out: revealing isolation
Slow zoom out from a lonely figure to reveal an empty snowy plain, static camera