300 First Battle Scene — Explaining Zack Snyder's Crazy Horse Shot, Morph Zooms, and Speed Ramps

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300 First Battle Scene Breakdown — A look behind the scenes of the “Crazy Horse” shot and the ingenious way Zack Snyder and his team shot the Hot Gates Battle.

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro — 300 First Battle Scene Breakdown
01:22 - What is the "Crazy Horse" Rig?
02:04 - Adapting for Perfection
04:42 - Lens Size
07:47 - Shot Sizes
10:37 - Morph Zooms

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300 First Battle Scene Breakdown

It’s highly likely that when you saw 300’s first battle (aka the Hot Gates Battle), a single question came to mind. How did they shoot that? From the speed ramps to the morph zooms, there is a lot going on in this single-take fight scene, nicknamed the “Crazy Horse Shot.” In this 300 behind-the-scenes video, we’ll explain everything, including the ingenious idea Zack Snyder had to pull it off.

Zack Snyder’s 300 is full of amazing shots, it is a feast of eye candy. And a lot can be analyzed and appreciated about the use of slow motion, the surreal comic book look, or the special effects that brought it all together. But during the 300 first battle, there is a moment that stands above the rest. The idea was to shoot a single-take fight but also include speed ramps and zooms in and out of the action. Trying to execute this ambitious shot in a “oner” would be extremely difficult, especially the timing and precision.

So, why is it called the “Crazy Horse Shot”? Zack Snyder thought he might be able to use a camera rig that was also used in a TV movie called Crazy Horse. That rig consisted of two cameras (one shooting B&W, the other shooting color) that could capture the same exact image at the same time. This was done with a beam splitter, a prism that split light into two directions.

But instead of two cameras, Snyder wanted three — each fitted with a different focal length lens. This way, they could capture three different shot sizes (wide, full, medium) at the same time. Then in post-production, they could time exactly when to zoom in and out between those shots. This technique is called a morph zoom (or nested zoom) because the transition between the shots had to be manufactured in editing.

However, after they shot this iconic 300 fight battle scene, there was an issue with the focus and it had to be re-done. The revised plan simply had 3 cameras positioned as closely together as possible instead of requiring a beam splitter. And thus, the Hot Gates Battle was complete and it easily became one of the most stunning shots in the movie and in recent years. The 300 first battle scene is the perfect example of when a creative vision requires technical innovation. Zack Snyder and his team gave us a fresh and thrilling way to shoot action, all without traditional editing.


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♬ SONGS USED:

"Fever Dream" - Tyler Bates
"The Hot Gates" - Tyler Bates
"Xerxes' Tent" - Tyler Bates
"The Wolf" - Tyler Bates
"Immortals Battle" - Tyler Bates

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