"- Roll camera."
Films are made up of sequences.
Sequences are made of scenes.
And scenes are made up of shots.
In the previous episodes of the shot list,
we broke down the various shot sizes,
framing options
and camera angles at a filmmaker's disposal.
Now we turn our attention to the matter of focal length.
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This is episode 4 of "The Shot List."
Depth of field.
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Good filmmakers understand
that depth of field is a spectrum
that can be fine-tuned
to best serve the narrative.
When we say depth of field,
we're referring to an area of the shot that's in focus.
Whether it's deep focus.
Shallow focus.
Soft focus.
A rack focus.
A split diopter shot.
Or a shot with a tilt-shift lens.
In this video,
we'll be examining six different types of camera focus.
As we progress,
we'll be filling out a shot list using StudioBinder
that you can download and reference.
Now it's time to focus.
We'll start with deep focus.
When both the subject and background are shown in crisp detail.
This is known as deep focus.
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When you have a group shot with subjects
of varying distances from the lens
or if there are important details
to be gleaned from the background.
Shots with deep focus can offer more visual information to the viewer.
This allows the viewer's eyes to explore at their own pace.
And allows dynamic action to play out on multiple planes.
"- Am I a go to assist Dr. Stone in removing the panel?
- Assistance appreciated. - Permission granted."
The stunning opening sequence of "Gravity" utilizes extreme deep focus.
The depth of field stretches all the way from the astronauts
to Earth's atmosphere.
This is a single 17-minute take.
Gorgeous though this shot is
there's another reason why deep focus works so well here.
"- Explorer, this is Houston.
- Go ahead, Houston.
- Mission abort. Repeat, mission abort."
As chaos erupts
our deep depth of field allows the actions to stay in full view.
"- Man down! Man down!"
With everything in focus,
it is our own eyes would do the editing.
Deep focus is a great way to ensure
that each element of your frame is equally clear.
Or when you want to create layered images
with action in the foreground,
middle ground and background.
But what if you want the audience to pay attention to something in particular,
use a shallow focus.
Shallow focus renders a portion of the frame in sharp detail.
While leaving the rest of the image soft.
This is called — the plane of focus.
The soft out of focus portions of the shot
can be the background.
The foreground.
Or both.
There are many uses for shallow depth of field.
For a romantic effect.
Imbue an element with meaning.
Or to isolate to subject.
Shallow depth of field can also be used to create the bokeh effect
where out of focus points of light
blur like this.
Most shots use some degree of shallow focus.
And it is useful for guiding the audience's attention.
Or to suggest a character's emotional state.
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Consider this scene from "Moonlight".
Chiron is confronted by his mother.
"- Sharon!
- Hey!
- Hey, baby. - Hey, mom.
- Where'd you go last night? - What?
- Well, I'm yo' mama, ain't I?"
Their relationship is complicated,
to say the least.
"- Don't look at me!"
"- He had me worried about you."
Paula's addiction makes her emotionally manipulative.
The extreme shadow focus
paired with P.O.V. framing
is a clear presentation of her influence over him.
"- Mama locked herself out the door, yeah?
Can you come let her in?
Come on, baby.
Let me in, baby.
Baby, come on."
Use shallow depth of field when you want to emphasize something.
But don't overdo it.
Save it for when it really matters.
While deep focus keeps everything in focus.
And shallow focus keeps something in focus.
Our next technique keeps nothing in focus.
"- Gandalf."
Soft focus.
Soft focus refers to a shot
where no portion of the frame is 100% sharp.
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Soft focus is achieved by either imperfections built into the lens.
Or with diffusion filters.
In some cases, stretching a silk stocking across the lens
or smearing the lens with vaseline will do the trick.
In the past,
soft focus was often used to heighten the beauty of female stars.
Like Ingrid here.
"- Is looking at you, kid."
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While that particular usage is rare these days,
soft focus is still sometimes used
to lend atmosphere to dream sequences.
Flashbacks.
Or sometimes an entire film.
"A.I. Artificial Intelligence"
makes use of soft focus
from start to finish.
"- You were designed and built specific like the rest of us.
They made us too smart, too quick, and too many."
A.I. blends science fiction
and dreamy storybook elements.
The soft focus and heavy bloom
are integral elements of the film's visual style.
Suggesting a surreal dreamlike landscape.
When done with purpose soft focus can be a bold stylistic choice.
Moving on.
A technique that changes its focus
within the shot.
The rack focus.
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Unlike the previous types of focus,
rack focus is not an adjective,
it's a verb.
Racking focus is the art of transitioning a shallow depth of field
between different points of focus within a shot.
Some rack focuses are big and eye-catching.
While others are far more subtle
and fly under the radar.
Racking focus directs the audience's attention with pinpoint precision.
It also allows the entire sequence to play out in a single shot
without the need for extra coverage.
Complex tracking shots require constant precise focus racking
which is executed by a focus puller
using a follow focus.
Bong Joon Ho's monster movie "The Host"
contains a number of impressively coordinated rack focuses.
Let's look at this scene.
Watch as the shallow focus first follows Gang-Doo.
Before drifting back to his siblings.
The nurse spots them and calls out.
"- Hey there!
Man with yellow hair stop!"
And we rack focus one last time
back to Gang-Doo in a close-up.
The speed of this fast rack focus
also magnifies the shock and panic.
As our protagonists attempt to sneak out of a hospital.
When you want to reveal elements in a shot
or create a connection between them
without cutting
remember the rack focus.
To dive deeper into how to guide the eye,
make sure to watch our videos on Spielberg's use of the eye trace.
And how the rack focus was used in "Casino Royale."
Links are in the description.
But what if you want two planes of action in shallow focus
at the same time?
For that, we move on to our next subject.
Split diopter.
A split diopter shot captures two separate focal points in sharp focus
while the area in between them is left out of focus.
This is achieved through specialized lenses
capable of independently focusing on two different focal points.
Use a split diopter shot
when you have important information
in both the foreground and background.
But don't want to use deep focus.
Or when you have two characters speaking at different focal distances.
And want them both to appear crisp
without racking focus.
"- What? - Yeah, do that again."
These shots are used rarely
and you can see why.
The effect is unnatural.
The human eye can see with deep or shallow focus.
But it can't do both at the same time.
Quentin Tarantino has made use of the split diopter lens
many times.
"- Let's slow it down.
Let's slow it way down."
In "The Hateful Eight",
the split diopter is used to convey
a sense of depth and geometry
within Minnie's haberdashery.
"- You still alive white boy?"
Manix, our only hope,
is passed out
while Major Warren is helpless in the background.
This split diopter shot
is used to show our two protagonists
at their most vulnerable.
With Daisy making her move
the panic sets in.
"- I ain't dead yet, you black bastard."
A split diopter shot can pull double duty in your shot list.
But remember that they also create an impossible perspective
that can pull the audience out,
if you're not careful.
The same can be also said about our next subject.
The tilt-shift.
Tilt-shift, also known as a swing shift
is another specialized lens
that produces striking visuals.
A regular lens directs light
straight into the sensor
while a tilt shift
bends the light
creating various distortions.
In which an extremely narrow portion of the frame is in sharp focus
while the rest of the frame is left a blur.
Filming a life-size subject through a tilt-shift lens
at times can give it the odd appearance of being a miniature.
Like in this scene from "The Social Network".
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One striking example comes from the Koen Brothers
in the bar mitzvah scene of "A Serious Man".
The skewed focus visualizes Dany's mental state
which has been altered.
With the help of little Mary Jane.
The opportunities to use tilt-shift shots might be few.
But when the time comes to shift perspectives
accept no substitute.
And so these are the six different types of camera focus
that you can employ when planning your shots.
When you're ready to create a shot list for your next project
be sure to check the description for a link to StudioBinder.
It's free to get started.
I have fun mixing and matching different types of focus
with different shot sizes,
frames,
or camera angles.
You'll also find a link to this full shot list and storyboard.
Use it as an inspiration for your next shoot.
In the next episode of the shot list,
we'll take a look at all of the different camera rigs and mechanisms
you can use to take shot size,
framing angles,
and focus
to yet another level.
Now stay focused
and get shot listing.
To stay in the loop of the series
subscribe and enable notifications.
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