MEDP/F 160 Summer 2015

Lecture 3

Lens, Focal Length, Depth of Field

Composition and Coverage

Organic approach:

The story is in the shot

The idea of an “organic” and a “synthetic” approach to film storytelling comes from Andre Bazin’s “What is Cinema?” vol. 1 (Hunter Main - Library Stacks - PN1994 .B3513)

Synthetic approach - Build the story image by image…

Sergei Eisenstein is the classic example of a

director who believes in the power of a synthetic

approach to film.

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If you show the birds...

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And you show the people...

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You ultimatelyhave to showthe BIRDS andthe PEOPLEin the same shot.

How to approach a scene...

Perspective means depth means a ‘z axis’ that bringsviewer into the picture.

Michelangelo Antonioni “Red Desert” 1964

Headroom

“Closure”

“Lookspace” or “Looking Room”

Constant minor reframing is needed to maintain a “comfortable” frame.

Leadroom

Rule of Thirds

• Example “Badlands” (Terrence Malick 1973)

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Documentary Coverage

• Establishing shot• Detail shots• Following main action

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Example: Hiroshima Bound “UN Sequence”

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Tips for Shooting Handheld• Use your whole body• Keep knees bent and loose• Stay toward the wide-angle • Breathe steadily• Know where the shot is going (for pans, etc.)• Try different angles• Rehearse and do more than one take• Be aware of your shot & your light /adjust!

Handheld

Handheld, smaller camera

Even smaller camera (DSLR)

The Lens: the EYE of your camera

The Lens: the EYE of your audience

Lenses bend light (refraction)

and focus it on a focal plane

Lens Variables

• Focus • Focal length• F-stop

(aperture)

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Focus determines what is (and isn’t)sharp in the frame

Selective focus

Automatic vs. Manual Focus

How to focus manually

measure distance from the subject to the focal plane (recording surface)

zoom in all the way and focus, zoom out OR use focus assist

*Note: make sure you camera is set to “manual focus”

As long as the distance between the camera and the subject doesn’t change, subject will stay in focus.

Same distance means same focus...

Rack Focus example:Smoke and Moonlight

Lens Variables

• Focus • Focal length• F-stop

(aperture)

★

Focal length is the distance between the Optical Center

of the lens and the recording surface, and is measured in mm

Focal Length impacts Field of View

These numbers are relative …

• A wide angle lens on a 35mm camera might have a focal length of a 25mm. A telephoto lens might be 100mm or 200mm.• On a 16mm camera, cut these numbers in half.• For the Sony Alpha 3000 camera, the widest lens is 18mm and the longest lens is 55mm (35mm equivalent is 27-82.5mm)

60mm, big (23mm) sensor (Canon T31) 12mm, ⅓ inch sensor (Sony HXR-NX5U)

A prime lens has afixed focal length

Compound (zoom) lenses haveMultiple focal lengths

How to adjust focal length

Servo zoom lever

Manual zoom ring

focal length impacts Depth of Field

Long (telephoto) lenses have shallow depth of field

Wide lenses have deep depth of field

Shallow Depth of Field example:In The Mood for Love

Deep Focus example:(Visions of Light, clip about Citizen Kane)

Wide angle lenses expand space

Long lenses compress space

Which was taken with a longer lens?

In which instance was the camera physically closer to the actors?

12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

“One of the most important dramatic elements for me was the sense of entrapment those men must have felt in that room. Immediately a “lens plot” occurred to me. As the picture unfolded, I wanted the room to seem smaller and smaller. That meant that I would slowly shift to longer lenses as the picture continued. Starting with the normal range (28mm to 40mm), we progressed to 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm lenses. In addition, I shot the first third of the movie above eye level, and then, by lowering the camera, shot the second third at eye level, and the last third from below eye level. In that way, toward the end the ceiling began to appear. Not only were the walls closing in, the ceiling was as well. The sense of increasing claustrophobia did a lot to raise the tension of the last part of the movie.”

12 angry men - show clips