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In the Hitchcock zoom, the setting of a zoom lens is used to adjust the field of view at the same time as the camera moves towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. In its classic form, the camera is pulled away from a subject whilst the lens zooms in, or vice-versa.

Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion caused by lens focal length, the most directly noticeable feature of which is that the background "changes size" relative to the subject. As the human visual system uses both size and perspective cues to judge the relative sizes of objects, seeing a perspective change without a size change is a highly unsettling effect, and the emotional impact of this effect is much greater than the description above can suggest. The visual appearance for the viewer is that either the background suddenly grows in size and detail overwhelming the foreground, or, the foreground becomes immense and dominates its previous setting. Which of these two apparent effects predominates depends on which way the dolly/zoom occurs.

The Hitchcock zoom is commonly used by film-makers to represent the sensation of vertigo, a "falling away from oneself feeling", feeling of unreality, or to suggest that the character is undergoing a realization that causes them to reassess everything they had previously believed. A notable use of this effect is in Goodfellas, where director Martin Scorsese uses the Hitchcock zoom in a scene during the climax of the film: Henry Hill ( Ray Liotta) and Jimmy Conway ( Robert De Niro) are sitting in a restaurant, talking. Henry realizes that Jimmy is setting him up and betraying their lifelong friendship; as this happens, the perspective in the background changes in a slow, gradual manner. Another notable Hitchcock zoom appears in Steven Spielberg's Jaws, as Police Chief Brody ( Roy Scheider) becomes increasingly paranoid whilst guarding a beach.

The Hitchcock zoom can be combined with computer graphics. One example of this is the Neo flight scene in The Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix Reloaded is the second installment of the Matrix series written by the Wachowski brothers and released by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15, 2003 and around the world during the latter half of that month. The Matrix Reloaded ear.