Dolly Zoom Video: 9 Easy Steps to Creating Movement with Still Images

Dolly Zoom adds interest to your videos by quickly creating movement with still images.

Many recent conversations have been about creating parallax videos using still images. Examples include using AI-generated images, photographs, maps, and graphs when video isn’t available.

Parallax and its cousin, the Dolly Zoom, also known as the Vertigo Shot from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name, adds sophisticated movement beyond the typical panning and zooming found in most videos. Ken Burns uses a version of this method when he makes his historical documentary videos.

Preparing Your Images and Video

1. Use two images: One image for the foreground and one for the background.
2. Zoom out: If your images are tightly cropped, use tools like MidJourney AI or the latest version of Photoshop (Content Aware Cropping) to zoom out your images. This will give you more space to work within your video without reducing the final video quality. Depending on the complexity of the background, you may need to edit the enlarged background using a tool like Photoshop due to artifacts that can occur with complex backgrounds.
3. Preparing for Green or Blue screen: Delete the background of the foreground image by using a tool like Photoshop. Then replace it with a uniform color not found in the image. The new background can be any color, including traditional pure blue (Hex color: #0000FF) or green (Hex color: #00FF00). 
4. Compose your video: Import the two still images into your video editor and set the project resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, and video length to your requirements.
   • In my example, I used the setting of 4k, 16:9, and 30 frames per second (FPS:  NTSC standard).
     
5. Green Screen: Edit the foreground image so everything except the subject is transparent. Most video editors have an FX (effects) called Chroma Keyer or Green Screen to accomplish this.

 

Now you’re ready to create your Dolly Zoom Video.

 

Steps to Creating Your Dolly Zoom Video

1. Image movement: The key to dolly zoom videos is having the background image zoom out at the same rate as the foreground image zooms in.
   • For example, the background video zooms out at a rate of 2 pixels per frame in my video.
     • Specifically, my background image starts as an image of 3800 x 2137.  Over the course of  500 frames (16 seconds and 20 frames at an NTSC standard of 30 frames per second) it zooms out to 4800 x 2700.
       
     • Similarly, the foreground video zooms in at that same rate, starting at 4800 x 2700 and ending at 3800 x 2137.
       
2. Depth of field:  For the background video, start with an image that has normal depth of field.  While you’re zooming out on the image in your video editor, blur the background image over the same 500 frames with a Blur or Defocus effect (FX).
3. Adjustments: Check the composite video and adjust each image’s zoom as needed.
4. Render: Render your video, and you’re done!

Example Dolly Zoom Video

Resources

While I wrote this article myself, I used Grammarly to make suggestions for improving it.

I created the background image within the video by training the MidJourney Image AI with a prompt that I wrote.

The background music was generated using the SoundRaw AI.

Note:  I don’t receive any compensation for mentioning any companies or organizations in this article.