Week 4: Tools of the Trade 2: Film Language, Part 2 Focus and Depth of Field

Depth of field is simply the area of your film frame that is in focus, sometimes referred to as the zone of sharpness.

 There are two types of depth of field, shallow (or narrow, or small) and wide (or deep or large). 

As we can see in the example from Piper, Shallow focus involves one point of focus with the foreground and background blurred. A shallow depth of field is used frequently in filmmaking because it allows you to focus on something in the screen as part of your storytelling. That subject is the only thing in focus.

One technique in getting a shallow depth of field in live action film making is to use a longer lens. Telephoto lenses will have a shallower depth of field than wide angle lenses when they're set at the same f/stop.


Conversely, deep focus puts nearly everything in focus.

      Here is an example of deep focus from Citizen Kane a photographic and cinematographic technique using a large/wide depth of field.

RACK FOCUS:

Rack focus is a creative technique where focus is deliberately changed within a shot. By modifying focus in a static shot, you will move the viewer's attention from one part of the film frame to another.

Here is an example from Piper:

and another example from Casino Royale: