Variable zooms in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Variable zooms in 2001: A Space Odyssey - Gray and Black Galaxy Wallpaper

Trying to figure out if this shot (23:50) in 2001: A Space Odyssey is a camera movement or a zoom happening. I'm pretty sure it's a zoom but some confirmation would be helpful. For those that are wondering, I'm making a short video essay on Kubrick's zoom technique, and would love to be able to take an example from 2001.



Best Answer

As [we are fairly sure] we know, Kubrick used spherical lenses not anamorphics on 2001, we can use a simple perspective test to see if it was a zoom or camera move.

If you move the camera, perspective will change. If you zoom, it will not. [This is physics 101[1].] This is harder to test on anamorphic lenses as they also change image framing as you pull zoom in quite a complex way - so let's be glad we don't have to compensate for that too.

By the simple expedient of taking an early and late frame & re-sizing one to fit over the other, you can tell this is entirely a zoom.

enter image description here

I have intentionally stepped this out by 20px vertically so you can see it. Accurately lined up, there is no discernible perspective change at all & therefore the overlay vanishes entirely.

Because of the difficulty in hand-matching the compositing for the 'windows' you would have to assume this was all done in post; so it was all shot at the widest and zoomed after compositing. Otherwise the compositing would have to be hand-matched for every frame. A nightmare of a task when everything was done by hand.

I can also find no reference to Kubrick using zoom lenses before Barry Lyndon, which would add weight to this argument.

[1] This confuses photographers too, especially when using crop-frame cameras, so I did a beginner's guide on PhotographySE - How does crop factor affect perspective? - if you want to see this in practice.




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Why is 2001: A Space Odyssey so weird?

As the film lurched into existence\u2014without a set plot line, much less a finished script\u2014its behind-the-scenes reality often proved as outlandish as its futuristic fiction. Case in point: the anecdotes below, adapted from the new book Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke and the Making of a Masterpiece.

What is the style of 2001: A Space Odyssey?

The genre of this film is as much sci-fi as it is an arthouse; it is unlike any other sci-fi film, but at the same time you can watch many sci-fi films and see its influence. It is not a dialogue heavy film, using music and visuals masterfully to keep the story moving.

How did they shoot 2001: A Space Odyssey?

The effect was achieved by using a film technique known as slit-scan photography (as well as shooting various paints and chemicals moving in a pool). While the slit-scan process predates Kubrick's film, Douglas Trumbull, the special effects supervisor, adapted and expanded on the technique in new and exciting ways.

What cameras were used in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

A well-worn 1960 Panavision 65mm handheld camera, used by director Stanley Kubrick to shoot his groundbreaking epic \u201c2001: A Space Odyssey,\u201d is just one of the pieces of cinema history currently held in the Science and Technology Study Collection.



4 Ways 2001: A Space Odyssey Was a Visual-Effects Pioneer




More answers regarding variable zooms in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Answer 2

It's a combination of both zoom and camera movement.

The difficulty figuring this scene out might come from the fact that the live scenes are static recordings (of live action scenes), and either projected behind the scale model of the docking pad, or — more likely — superimposed afterwards.

Since these four frames (coloured in the picture below) are static recordings, they are zoomed out of while the rest of the docking scene is actual camera movement.

one of the last frames of the referenced scene in which the four live-action scenes are highlighted

Using the same method as Tetsujin did in their answer, it becomes obvious that the angle from which we see the live-action superimpositions don't change, and they are indeed simply scaled to accommodate the camera movement of the miniature of the docking bay (that is unless they are projections):

two screenshots of the scene superimposed to show how the live-action scene simply is scaled while the rest of the scene involves actual camera movement

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Pixabay, Philippe Donn, eberhard grossgasteiger, Adrien Olichon