Editing Perspective distortion (section)

=== Mood effect and famous uses ===

The mood effect of perspective distortion achieved by [[rectilinear lens|rectilinear]] extreme wide-angle lenses is that the resulting image looks grotesque and unsettling, while not looking as unrealistic as [[curvilinear perspective|curvilinear]] [[fisheye lens]]es which display [[barrel distortion]]. The effect is especially noticeable the closer the camera is to the subject, as its amount increases the shorter the focal length is at the same field size.

One notable director that frequently employs rectilinear [[ultra wide angle lens]]es in order to achieve a distinctive signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion is [[Terry Gilliam]]. Also [[Stanley Kubrick]] (in ''[[Paths of Glory]]'', and ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'', among others) as well as [[Orson Welles]] (in ''[[The Trial (1962 film)|The Trial]]'', partly ''Orson Welles' London'', segment ''Four Clubmen''), [[Sam Peckinpah]] (in ''[[Straw Dogs (1971 film)|Straw Dogs]]''), and [[Sidney Lumet]] (in ''[[The Offence]]'') have occasionally done the same in the past, though mostly in moderation, for single shots or sequences only, while Gilliam hardly ever uses any lens longer than 14&nbsp;mm, which has garnered lenses of that particular focal length the informal nickname ''"The Gilliam"'' among film-makers.<ref>Stubbs, Phil: [http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/tidegill.htm "Terry Gilliam talks ''Tideland''," ''Dreams'']</ref> [[Jean-Pierre Jeunet]] and [[Marc Caro]], two French filmmakers influenced by Gilliam, adopted his typical wide-angle photography in their two most "Gilliamesque" features, ''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]]'' and ''[[The City of Lost Children]]''. Orson Welles's ''The Trial'' is notable for heavily influencing Gilliam's signature style years before the American ex-patriate joined the [[Monty Python]] comedy troupe while only being a one-feature style for Welles.

Due to the grotesque, unsettling mood effect peculiar to wide-angle lenses, films making use of such perspective distortion can often be placed in one of two categories: Grotesque and surreal satire and fantasy, also to some extent black comedy (Gilliam, Jeunet & Caro, Orson Welles, ''Dr. Strangelove'') on the one hand, and serious, more realistic films with a particular edge for [[social criticism]] on the other, whereas social conventions, collective society, and/or the motives and acts of leaders are portrayed as grotesque and absurd, and often also feature tyrannical characters with conformist values who act out in an extremely hostile and prejudiced way towards individualism and outsiders (''Paths of Glory'', ''Straw Dogs'', ''The Offence'').

On the other end of the focal length spectre, [[Leni Riefenstahl]] used extreme [[telephoto]] lenses to compress large crowds in ''[[Triumph of the Will]]'' while the ''Führer'' [[Adolf Hitler]] is seen through normal lenses and often from a [[low-angle shot|low angle]] to appear tall in comparison.

In cinematography, perspective distortion also has bearing on the in-camera [[special effect]] known as the [[dolly zoom]], in which a [[zoom lens]] zooms out at the same time as the camera moves toward the subject, in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame while the background "changes size" relative to the subject.  This effect was made popular in the films ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' and ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]''. Another example of this can be seen in the first ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|Lord of the Rings]]'' film, just before the [[Nazgûl|Black Rider]] comes down the road.  The dolly zoom is used to create a compression effect in the road.