depth of field and lenses
TRANSCRIPT
Depth and Texture
Cinema is a 2-D format which results in many amateur and student films looking very flat.
Today’s session will involve creating depth within the frame. We will achieve this in two ways:
Camera position and depth of fieldCreative lighting
Depth and Texture
• Cinema is a 2-D format which results in many amateur and student films looking very flat.
• Today’s session will involve creating depth within the frame. We will achieve this in two ways:
• Camera position
• Depth of field
Depth of Field
What is depth of field?
• Depth of field refers to how much of the frame is in focus.
• If everything in the frame is in focus this is known as a deep depth of field.
• If only part of the frame is in focus this is called a shallow depth of field.
• Deep and shallow depth of fields have their own uses and connotations.
Shallow Depth of Field
Advantages
• Being aware of and using depth of field has many advantages:
• You can reveal or withhold information.
• Guide the viewers eyes around the frame.
• Create a more three dimensional composition.
• Suggest emotions, relationships, state of mind etc.
Wide angle/Telephoto
• The zoom button on a camcorder has two letters, W and T which stand for wide angle and telephoto.
• When a camera is zoomed out fully the lens is “wide” and when zoomed in it is “Telephoto”.
• These two types of lenses have very different looks and effects on the subject.
Wide Angle
• Wide-angle lenses have a wider view than that of the human eye. They make things appear further apart and make them appear to move faster than normal.
• They exaggerate and distort depth and perspective and have a gritty, realistic feel.
• When a camera is set to a wide angle, everything in the shot is in focus (Deep depth of field)
• Avoid using wide angles for shooting close-ups or conversations as they will make faces look distorted and peculiar.
• Of course if this is the effect you want then wide angles are perfect. Terry Gilliam is a director who is famous for using wide angle lenses to emphasis unusual and quirky situations. (Watch 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
Telephoto
• Telephoto lenses compress and offer a magnified view of the world. Images created with telephoto lenses have a dreamy, detached, lyrical feel.
• Telephoto lenses create a shallow depth of field making them ideal for portraits/fashion/close ups since they create a soft background and attractively flatten facial features.
Creating depth with focal length
• The two shots on the next slide are both medium shots.
• One is taken with a telephoto lens and the other with a wide angle lens.
• Notice the difference in depth of field, compression and how the subjects relationship to the background.
Depth of Field and POV
• With depth of field, certain aspects of the frame can be thrown in or out of focus. Using depth of field in a creative way is one of the most powerful ways of enhancing the emotion/mood of a scene.
• This example shows how putting either the foreground or background out of focus dramatically changes the POV of the scene
Pull focus
• Pull focus is achieved when the area of the frame that is in focus shifts.
• This has the effect of changing the perspective of the shot or subtly drawing the audiences attention towards part of the frame.
Where’s my Close-Ups!?!?
• Apart from depth of field and lenses the best way to create an emotional impact on your audience is to use close-ups.
• For some strange reason students are afraid to use close-ups.
• With a limited budget and no access to extravagant sets or actors, close-ups are your biggest friend.
• Often student’s storyboards and sketches consist largely of long shots and medium shots.
• The further away we are from the subject/characters the less we identify.
• Close-up help the audience to connect to and identify with whoever or whatever you have filmed.
• You only need one or two long/medium shots to establish a location. Once that location has been established you could use close-ups without causing any confusion.
• Perhaps you could establish a location just using close-ups? What are the most visual and dramatic parts of your location?
Close-Ups and Performance
• Watch any dramatic scene in a film and you will see that it consists of mainly close-ups.
• Close-ups amplify tiny gestures and expressions meaning a very minimal performance can be made more dramatic.
• This helps to prevent exaggerated performances and overacting.
Different uses
• Close-ups can be used for different purposes.
• Enhance emotions.
• Give things importance.
• Create atmosphere (dripping taps, a spider crawling across a floor).
• With hold information and create enigmas.
Research
• Adverts are excellent texts to watch as the are short, efficient and rely on all the techniques mentioned in this powerpoint to sell their product.
• Adverts are shot in many different styles/genres.
• Notice how close-ups are used. To create impact, give information, enhance emotion?
Examples
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zff9hVH3ptY&feature=related
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_fFzU2E08• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=byEmdbLo1PA• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gTSIUlKupD8• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ILPCDMIcjuA&fe
ature=related
Conclusion
• Unless you consider and use good framing, composition and depth of field your image with look very flat and 2D.
• To create a perfect shot every time utilise the following:• The rule of thirds• Three quarter angle• No head space• Wide angle/telephoto lens• Depth of field• Layered composition• The remember the many uses of close-ups and use
them!!!