The Trombone Effect, also known as The Vertigo Effect, is a visual technique which is rarely used, due to the simple fact that it is very hard to pull off. The effect draws a lot of attention to itself, which is what most wise directors try and avoid. I'm of the popular belief that shots and camera movement should remain invisible. They should never attract attention to themselves as the story is the most important aspect of any film. The audience must be fully immersed, and an instant or dramatic camera movement or effect can puzzle the auditions and remove them from the film. Which is bad.
However, I am aiming to use the effect at one point in my short film, to emphasise the unnerving and supernatural atmosphere surrounding a character. In the scene, the character of Oscar experiences what I would describe as an out of body experience inside of his own mind. This scene will draw a fine line between being a typical dream sequence, and a scene which explores the hidden moments in our mind. Following his breakdown, Oscar collapses and falls unconscious. He enters a dark red room which is empty, he is surrounded by shadow. The floor is covered in paper just like the previous scene, only this time on each piece of paper bold words appear 'do not trust him'. Before Oscar sees this and before he wakes up inside this red void, the camera will perform 'the trombone effect'. The character of Oscar will be upright, with his eyes closed. The camera tracks in whilst zooming out. At this point Oscar opens his eyes. What this effect will achieve, is it will instantly draw attention to itself, making the audience pay attention but more importantly they will be instantly aware something is wrong or 'unnatural'. The interesting thing about any camera movement that is noticeable, is that it is often deemed 'unnatural' and that any character involved, or any situation involved, is seen as deviant. For instance the dutch angle shot commonly used in Film Noir. Back to my point, as the shot is tracking in and zooming out on Oscar we then see him look around as if he is lost. At this point the previous assumption of the audience is confirmed. They assumed he was lost due to the effect, now we are showing them that he is.
Below is a link to a Youtube clip of Vertigo, where the trombone shot is used. The shot became famous from this film in particular, Alfred Hitchcock used this shot in his 1958 masterpiece to elaborate upon a singular standpoint of the main character. James Stewarts character, has established by now his fear of heights. What this shot does is make us feel disorientated by the shot, to make us feel like we are falling yet at the same time being thrust upwards. It also delves into the psychology of the character very well by making heights out to be something which should in fact be feared, forcing us to sympathies with him. The shot also helps create a larger scale, showing what may have looked like a small drop to be a gigantic depth below us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je0NhvAQ6fM
Below is another clip of a Trombone shot, this time used in Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975). The shot this time is used to create a very dramatic and intensifying effect. The trombone shot is used to track in on the facial expression of the main protagonist as he shows fear. The shot also suggests the character is in-fact looking at something which ought to be feared. The way a trombone shot tracks in and zooms out disorientates both character and audience, placing them in the situation which in this case a shark attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svEPWBxpYjo
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