Whip zoom

"Snap zoom" redirects here. For video game mechanic known as zoom snapping, see Aim assist.

A whip zoom (also referred to as a snap zoom or crash zoom) is a type of camera shot in which the camera zooms in or out quickly,^[1][2] allowing the viewer to focus on the subject.^[3] Another use of the whip zoom is to enable the shot to be edited as a cut from a long shot to a close up, or vice versa.^[4]

Example clip of a whip zoom effect being used with an edit

This technique is used by several directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Kevin Smith and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Examples can be seen in 1970s kung fu film and in the movies Kill Bill: Volume 2, Goodfellas, Tusk, Kundo: Age of the Rampant, Man of Steel and Eight Hours Don't Make a Day.^[5][6] Horror genre examples can be found in The Shining and The Exorcist III.^[7]

References

1. Ang, Tom (2006). Digital Video: An Introduction. DK Pub. ISBN 978-0-7566-1600-7.
2. Tips, Danny Kelly | Categorised in Filmmaking (2015-10-18). "6 Camera Movements and When to Use Them". MetFilm School - London. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
3. Kim, Julia (13 December 2011). "Camera Techniques". slideshare.net. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
4. Hood, Garry. "Zoom Lens Techniques". Sign Video. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
5. Valck, Marijke de; Hagener, Malte (2005). Cinephilia: Movies, Love and Memory. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-5356-768-5.
6. Bowen, Christopher J. (2013-03-05). Grammar of the Shot. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-136-05854-7.
7. Gunawardana, Dilan (2019-10-31). "The art of subtle horror". Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2023-07-22.