Discuss all things Ghostbusters here, unless they would be better suited in one of the few forums below.
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By Sav C
#4894107
I'm trying to remember are there any zoom shots in Ghostbusters I or II? I know that one of the matte paintings of spook central gets enlarged, but I'm not sure if any shots use actual zoom. Were Panavision Anamorphic Zoom Lenses even around in 1984?
By Coover5
#4894131
How "zoomy" are we talking about? There are a few in the courtroom scene in GBII. And of course GBI has Slimer's POV as it moves towards Venkman to slime him.
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By Coover5
#4894134
I guess it comes down to if you are talking about shots were we move in closer to a subject or if you really mean a shot with a zoom lens and stationary camera.
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By Sav C
#4894136
Coover5 wrote:I guess it comes down to if you are talking about shots were we move in closer to a subject or if you really mean a shot with a zoom lens and stationary camera.
Yeah, I actually mean shots with a zoom lens. I'm not sure if Panavision even made Anamorphic Lenses back then. I have a feeling there weren't any real zoom shots as I can't seem to remember any. It'd be interesting to figure out what Lenses they used.
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By robbritton
#4894140
Coover is dead right on the court scene, but I can't think of many others offhand. Could be a stylistic choice on Ivan's part rather than camera limitations.
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By Kingpin
#4894142
Coover5 wrote:And of course GBI has Slimer's POV as it moves towards Venkman to slime him.
My bet is that that moment was captured with a camera on a track, rather than a zoom lense.
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By Alex Newborn
#4894148
First thing that pops to mind is the shot where the Keymaster and Gatekeeper reunite and head for the staircase up to the temple. A dolly in/zoom out was used to make the background seem to alter in a supernatural way.

Ivan Reitman talks about it in the commentary track, saying it wasn't then quite the cliche' it became later. To which Harold Ramis says "Scorsese ripped you off!", and Reitman replies "G******it!"

Director Martin Scorsese has used the dolly/zoom so much it became a signature move, often referred to as 'the Goodfellas shot' when other filmmakers have employed it.

Scorsese directed Goodfellas in 1990, six years after Ghostbusters, hence the meaning of Ramis' tongue-in-cheek quip, and the mock indignant reaction by Reitman.

Alex
Last edited by Alex Newborn on June 3rd, 2017, 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Sav C
#4894157
robbritton wrote:Could be a stylistic choice on Ivan's part rather than camera limitations.
Could be, however being a Hollywood film much of the movie would've most likely been shot with prime lenses anyways.
Alex Newborn wrote:First thing that pops to mind is the shot where the Keymaster and Gatekeeper reunite and head for the staircase up to the temple. A dolly in/zoom out was used to make the background seem to alter in a supernatural way.

Ivan Reitman talks about it in the commentary track, saying it wasn't then quite the cliche' it became later. To which Harold Ramis says "Scorsese ripped you off!", and Reitman replies "G******it!"

Director Martin Scorsese has used the dolly/zoom so much it became a signature move, often referred to as 'the Goodfellas shot' when other filmmakers have employed it.

Scorsese directed Goodfellas in 1990, six years after Ghostbusters, hence the meaning of Ramis' tongue-in-cheek quip, and the mock indignant reaction by Reitman

Alex
Wow, I never noticed that that technique was used in Ghostbusters. It is pretty subtle but certainly there. They really used it well!

It certainly has been used a lot, even I've tried it out in some short films.
By Alex Newborn
#4894323
You're right. It's so subtle in Ghostbusters that I never noticed it until the commentary track came out, around 1999?

Never once picked up on it in fifteen years of viewing.

Also on this topic, I was just watching a clip from Jaws (1975) and Spielberg used a rapid dolly/zoom to great effect when Brody sees the shark attacking Alex Kintner.

This made me think it would be interesting to see a supercut of all movies/directors that used this technique in chronological order.

And sure enough, someone's already done the bulk of the work for us. Found it on vimeo.

Jaws, Ghostbusters, and Goodfellas are all on here. Spielberg used it again in E.T. (1982).

https://vimeo.com/84548119

Though, I am going to add that I vaguely recall an interview about the special effects for 1982's Poltergeist which stated the stretching hallway was done as a physical effect. But I've been known to mis-remember these things, so who knows?

Alex
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By Sav C
#4894333
Yeah, I first saw Ghostbusters 10 or 11 years ago, never picked up on it once. That supercut is pretty cool! I don't really know much about Poltergeist, but that hallway shot looks like it had extra manipulation done.
By Coover5
#4894337
You are right, Alex. It was done using the dolly zoom and a new/ extra long hallway set. In fact a blooper you can see in the video is the mom running down the extended hallway but when she bursts through the door you can see behind her a wall with a door where the hallway used to be. Of course you can blame it on the spirits manipulating the house but I suspect it was just cheaper to build a fake hallway then go back to the original house to film in the bedroom (or too little space at the bedroom set they created to have the hallway. )
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By Kingpin
#4894342
Coover5 wrote:In fact a blooper you can see in the video is the mom running down the extended hallway but when she bursts through the door you can see behind her a wall with a door where the hallway used to be.
The blooper isn't so much with when she bursts into the children's bedroom, but when the extending hall was built. In the shortened version of the hall, the door to the children's bedroom is off to the left, while elder daughter's room is straight on at the end of the hallway. When they built the extended hallway, they forgot to add in the second door for the elder daughter's room - so the door to Carol Ann's room is in the right position in relation to hallway when her mother bursts in, it's in the wrong position in the extended hallway. :)
By Coover5
#4894343
I based the comment on what they could see in the clip especially since Sav C said he didn't know much about Poltergeist.
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