How to Create Vertigo Effect With a Drone

The Vertigo Effect, also known as the dolly zoom has been a popular technique, first used by cameraman Irmin Roberts in renowned director Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo. But, have you ever wondered how this effect is achieved with a drone?

Basically, the dolly zoom effect is achieved by moving the camera forward while zooming out of the scene, or vice versa. Therefore, you must use a zoom lens to get this effect in camera. As you know, the consumer drones in the market don’t offer zoom lenses, but you can still achieve this effect with your drone with the single focal length lens.

To do that, you have to fake the effect in post. In this five-minute video, videographer Jeven Dovey shares his tips and tricks about how he shoots the footage and emulates the effect in Final Cut. He simply zooms out in post-production software while the drone is flying forward. He also shares his tips about how he gets different results with parallax shift by rotating the drone around the subject.  

Have you ever tried this technique with your drone? Or are you waiting for the rumored DJI Mavic with the zoom lens? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.