Background pulling effect

K. Forman · April 24th, 2003, 05:45 PM

Charles- I absolutely love Scrubs! Kudos to you, sir, on a fine show! Is it half as much fun to work on, as it is to watch?

Charles Papert · April 24th, 2003, 09:04 PM

Thanks Keith. I don't want to get too far off-subject here, but yes, it probably is at least half as much fun to work on as to watch. The cast is a lot of fun and there's quite a bit of geniune belly laughs on set that never make it on air.

Rob Lohman · April 25th, 2003, 07:04 AM

I think I've seen it somewhere once where a person was walking
towards the camera and they did the effect. It looked like the
road just kept getting longer and longer and although the person
was walking they really didn't get any closer to the camera.

This left me with an immediate feeling that although the person
is moving it is never getting closer to the things the person
wants. In this case, I thought it was a brilliant way to tell something
about that person without actually saying it!

Derrick Begin · April 25th, 2003, 07:23 AM

"Poltergeist" in the hallway...

Rob Lohman · April 25th, 2003, 07:43 AM

I haven't seen Poltergeist... so it couldn't be that one. It was
also outdoor...

K. Forman · April 25th, 2003, 07:56 AM

The Hitchhiker maybe?

Derrick Begin · April 25th, 2003, 08:03 AM

I don't know...

Poltergeist was just another example... Its fantastic when you nail it. A friend of mine did it and it looked like his nerves twitched...

Brendan Getchel · April 27th, 2003, 07:53 PM

Why not just accurately gear a follow focus to a dolly wheel to make it zoom in and out in precisely at speed and in proportion to the motion?

Then the camera operator would just have to concentrate on focus and not worry about speed and distance.

Just a thought.

Ben Lynn · April 27th, 2003, 08:34 PM

You can blast me for this but I actually used that shot in a wedding once and got some excellent feedback!

I did the shot on a tripod with big wheels that roll relatively smooth and then in post I slow-mo'd the video (so that it was sensual and not dramatic) and just about everyone who saw the move asked how I did it and said that they liked it.

So store that one for a rainy day and a boring wedding and have some fun shooting it.

Ben Lynn

Side note* Scrubs it great, I love the show and don't get to watch it except when I'm on the road.

Charles Papert · April 28th, 2003, 01:29 AM

Brendan:

I referenced such a setup earlier in this thread.

Ideally the camera operator doesn't even have to worry about focus, just framing--focus should hopefully be covered by a camera assistant! (not that common in the DV world, though...)

Bernard Diaz · August 27th, 2003, 10:08 PM

John Jay you beat me to the punch.
The scene at the Diner with Deniro and Liota in Goodfellas was the best I've see as well. Nice and slow.
The subjects remained the same size while the background exploded. (Not literaly)
Has anyone wondered if instead of a dolly in zoom out one would dolly out and zoom in?
Or has anyone seen or accomplished this effect?
Thoughts?

Charles Papert · August 28th, 2003, 01:31 AM

Play that scene from "Goodfellas" in reverse. That will demonstrate the effect.

I've seen the effect work in either direction. It all has to do with the intensity of the scene and what you want to achieve.

I just remembered another one we did on "Scrubs" first season. We were shooting a fantasy sequence that involved a firewalking gag on a bed of coals (faked for the scene, of course). The director wanted the feeling of the bed stretching out as the character became intimidated by the challenge. We enacted a dolly in/zoom out. As always, it took a while but we got it in the end. And then it got cut out of the show. Oh well.

April 24th, 2003, 09:04 PM	#17
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Thanks Keith. I don't want to get too far off-subject here, but yes, it probably is at least half as much fun to work on as to watch. The cast is a lot of fun and there's quite a bit of geniune belly laughs on set that never make it on air. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

April 25th, 2003, 07:04 AM	#18
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I think I've seen it somewhere once where a person was walking towards the camera and they did the effect. It looked like the road just kept getting longer and longer and although the person was walking they really didn't get any closer to the camera. This left me with an immediate feeling that although the person is moving it is never getting closer to the things the person wants. In this case, I thought it was a brilliant way to tell something about that person without actually saying it! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

April 25th, 2003, 07:43 AM	#20
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I haven't seen Poltergeist... so it couldn't be that one. It was also outdoor... __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

April 27th, 2003, 07:53 PM	#23
Brendan Getchel Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Waterbury, CT Posts: 101	Why not just accurately gear a follow focus to a dolly wheel to make it zoom in and out in precisely at speed and in proportion to the motion? Then the camera operator would just have to concentrate on focus and not worry about speed and distance. Just a thought. __________________ Dumb Guy.

April 28th, 2003, 01:29 AM	#25
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Brendan: I referenced such a setup earlier in this thread. Ideally the camera operator doesn't even have to worry about focus, just framing--focus should hopefully be covered by a camera assistant! (not that common in the DV world, though...) __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

April 24th, 2003, 05:45 PM	#16
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Charles- I absolutely love Scrubs! Kudos to you, sir, on a fine show! Is it half as much fun to work on, as it is to watch?

April 25th, 2003, 07:23 AM	#19
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	"Poltergeist" in the hallway...

April 25th, 2003, 07:56 AM	#21
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	The Hitchhiker maybe?

April 25th, 2003, 08:03 AM	#22
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	I don't know... Poltergeist was just another example... Its fantastic when you nail it. A friend of mine did it and it looked like his nerves twitched...

April 27th, 2003, 08:34 PM	#24
Ben Lynn Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 636	You can blast me for this but I actually used that shot in a wedding once and got some excellent feedback! I did the shot on a tripod with big wheels that roll relatively smooth and then in post I slow-mo'd the video (so that it was sensual and not dramatic) and just about everyone who saw the move asked how I did it and said that they liked it. So store that one for a rainy day and a boring wedding and have some fun shooting it. Ben Lynn Side note* Scrubs it great, I love the show and don't get to watch it except when I'm on the road.

August 27th, 2003, 10:08 PM	#26
Bernard Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 151	John Jay you beat me to the punch. The scene at the Diner with Deniro and Liota in Goodfellas was the best I've see as well. Nice and slow. The subjects remained the same size while the background exploded. (Not literaly) Has anyone wondered if instead of a dolly in zoom out one would dolly out and zoom in? Or has anyone seen or accomplished this effect? Thoughts?

August 28th, 2003, 01:31 AM	#27
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Play that scene from "Goodfellas" in reverse. That will demonstrate the effect. I've seen the effect work in either direction. It all has to do with the intensity of the scene and what you want to achieve. I just remembered another one we did on "Scrubs" first season. We were shooting a fantasy sequence that involved a firewalking gag on a bed of coals (faked for the scene, of course). The director wanted the feeling of the bed stretching out as the character became intimidated by the challenge. We enacted a dolly in/zoom out. As always, it took a while but we got it in the end. And then it got cut out of the show. Oh well. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com