The dolly zoom effect is very recognizable: the subject in the foreground stays motionless, but the background appears to change and zoom out so you can see more of it. To create this effect, you need to move the camera back as you zoom into your subject. The speed of the tracking back and zooming in must be the same for the subject’s size to remain the same. The effect works very well, but is very difficult to replicate with a consumer camera since the zoom controls on such devices are far from precise.
You can, however, cheat the whole thing by using a green or blue screen backdrop. You don’t even need to zoom out of your background clip while you’re shooting: all of it can be done from within iMovie. Just make sure both the background and the subject were shot using a static camera—ideally on a tripod. You could also use a photograph for the background if you prefer, since images are usually taken at resolutions that are much higher than high-definition video, eliminating the possibility of pixellating the backdrop if you zoom into it too much.
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