When most people think of a Spike Lee movie, or a “Spike Lee joint,” it’s usually an iconic shot that come to mind: the dreamy, emotional effect of Spike Lee’s double dolly shot. But what is the double dolly shot?

Spike Lee is renowned for his signature double dolly shot, a technique that creates a surreal effect by moving both the camera and actor at the same speed, making the character appear to glide motionlessly through space. This shot has become a hallmark of Lee's films, used to evoke a range of emotions and highlight pivotal moments, such as in 'Malcolm X', 'Crooklyn', and 'The 25th Hour'.

Although Lee popularized the double dolly shot, it was first used by Melvin Van Peebles in 'The Story of a Three Day Pass'. Lee's use of the technique is deeply connected to his identity as a filmmaker and activist, often serving as a visual bridge between past and present social issues. Notably, Lee closed 'Black Klansman' with the shot, drawing a connection between Denzel Washington's role in 'Malcolm X' and his son John David Washington's lead in 'Black Klansman'.

The genius behind Spike Lee's signature shot

Let's talk about the genius of Spike Lee, specifically the shot he has become famous for, his signature shot, the shot that truly makes a movie a Spike Lee joint. Let's talk about the double dolly shot. This is how it hits. When most people think of a Spike Lee movie, or a Spike Lee joint, it's usually one of these iconic shots that come to mind. Denzel as Malcolm X gliding through the air on his way to the Audubon ballroom, Troy in Crooklyn floating up into the sky, or Philip Seymour Hoffman rolling through the club in the 25th hour. All of these films showcase the dreamy, emotional effect of Spike Lee's double dolly shot. But what is the double dolly shot? The double dolly shot is a single shot that uses two dollies, which is probably why they named it that. But it's actually a bit of a misnomer. But before we get into that, what's a dolly? A dolly is a wheeled platform, or a tripod placed on wheels on a track, that allows the camera to move smoothly while tracking an actor or an object in a scene. But the double dolly shot adds the actor to the dolly platform, so that the camera and the actor are moving at the same speed. So I guess since it's only one dolly, the term double dolly is a little misleading. Either way, this method of utilizing the dolly creates the effect of the central character in the shot seeming motionless, yet still moving through space. It's surreal, which breaks the reality of the movie for just a moment, allowing the filmmaker to evoke an entire spectrum of emotion in the audience, depending on the context. The first time Spike used the double dolly was in Mo'Beta Blues, when Spike Lee, playing the character Giant, sees his bookies, who he owes money to, sitting in a parked car. The double dolly shows his fear as he attempts to get away unnoticed. It's a cool moment, though a little imperfect. It leaves a little bit to be desired from a plot standpoint. But Spike and his DP, Ernest Dickerson, knew at the time that they hadn't quite nailed it and had set off to master it. On Mo'Beta Blues, I did it, and we were just doing our film school geek phase, and finally Ernest and I said, look, if we're going to use this shot, we just can't be using it. It has to be a purpose. So they tried it again in Lee's next film, Jungle Fever, in an attempt to use it to actually drive the plot forward. Once again, it didn't quite hit. Fortunately, in Spike's case, three times was the charm. In doing the research for the film, I worked very closely with the late, great Dr. Betty Shabazz, Malcolm's widow, and she told me herself that she felt that when her husband came to Audubon Ballroom that fateful day, that he knew he was going to be assassinated, and that he chose to be a martyr. That is why we used that double dolly shot there. Since Malcolm X, Spike Lee has evolved the double dolly shot to take it to new heights. Literally. Like in Crooklyn, using it to not only show someone's heightened emotional state, but also the feeling of being high on drugs. Let's skip past some of these quite impressive, yet less influential double dolly shots until we get to The 25th Hour in 2002, where Spike uses three double dolly shots in a matter of minutes. Which, I guess, makes it like one double dolly multiplied by three to the square...whatever. It's a lot of dollies. He's able to seamlessly bring the audience deep into three vastly different mental states in a very short amount of time, starting with Ed Norton's Lust, Paquin's Ecstasy, and Seehoff's Despair. He then takes it up another notch in Inside Man by cranking up the speed and the frenzy around Denzel's character on his way to confront a bank robber who just killed a hostage. This approach to the double dolly not only brings us into the character's head, but connects us to the heightened stakes surrounding him. As much as Spike Lee may have mastered the art of the double dolly, he certainly was not the first to use it. The first known example of the double dolly shot was used by filmmaking legend Melvin Van Peebles, known as the godfather of modern black cinema, in his film The Story of a Three Day Pass. Like Melvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee has now become known as a filmmaker activist, using cinema to challenge racial injustice and explore complex social and political issues through the lens of the black experience in America. Even the use of what has become his signature shot was a way of connecting back to his roots as a black filmmaker. And it continues to be. His use of the double dolly in Black Klansman, as effective as the shot is as a storytelling device, it goes even deeper than most would clock. Spike's lead in the film, John David Washington, is Denzel Washington's son. Denzel played Malcolm X in the film that Spike says was his best use of the double dolly in his entire career. So he decides to end Black Klansman on the same shot, with the son of the man who played Malcolm X, in order to make an even more powerful and nuanced statement. I knew that had to be the ending. All throughout the film, we're trying to connect the past to the present. So this is just like another emphasis that this same bullshit is happening today. Let us know in the comments if there are any double dolly shots you particularly love, Spike Lee or otherwise. And we'll see you next time on How It Hits.

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