Films are made up of sequences.
"- Royal with cheese. - Royal with cheese."
Sequences are made of scenes.
And scenes are made up of shots.
In previous episodes,
we covered composition.
Camera movement.
Gear.
And depth of field.
All of these visual components
are directly impacted by the lens
a cinematographer chooses.
In this episode, we will discuss types of camera lenses
and the different effects each one has on visual storytelling.
"- Get in."
♪ This Is - Intro ♪
This is episode seven of the shot list.
Camera lenses.
In this episode, we'll be examining the various types of camera lenses.
Along the way,
we'll be populating these camera lenses
in a StudioBinder shot list.
Which you can download and reference in your upcoming projects.
But before we begin,
let's go over how a lens works.
Light passes into the lens.
And through different glass shades called "Lens Elements".
These elements sightly bend or refract the light.
So it lands on a focal point on an image sensor.
This is where a picture is created.
Every lens is distinguished by its focal length expressed in millimeters.
Such as a 50mm lens.
Some common focal lengths range from the wide 17mm lens
to the narrow 200mm lens.
However, some lenses have extremely short focal lengths,
such as a four millimeter fish eye lens.
Or extremely long focal lengths,
such as a 1200 telephoto lens.
Now, focal length is simply the distance
between the optical center of a lens
to the image sensor.
The longer the focal length,
such as 100mm,
the more narrow your angle of view is.
The shorter the focal length such as 24mm,
the wider your angle of view.
All lenses fall under two categories.
Prime lenses or zoom lenses.
A prime lens has a fixed focal length.
While a zoom lens can vary its focal length
by adjusting various lens elements.
In comparison with zoom lenses,
prime lenses have fewer lens elements
that can produce sharper images.
They're larger apertures also let in more light for low light shots,
like Kubrick's iconic candlelit scenes in "Barry Lyndon".
The larger aperture can also capture a shallower depth of field,
which is great for isolating subjects as in "The Master".
"- It's a lot to process."
Although zoom lenses have smaller apertures
cinematographers can shoot a wide, medium, and close up
without changing their lens
saving valuable time on set.
For more on how to creatively use the zoom function,
make sure to check out our previous episode on camera movement.
Now that we've covered how a lens functions --
"- Thanks. I get it now."
-- let's go over the specific types used by filmmakers
and how different lenses
can create completely different effects.
Let's start with the widest lenses.
The extreme wide angle lens.
Extreme wide angle lenses range between 18mm to 24mm.
Extreme wide angle lenses can simultaneously capture close-ups
and landscapes in one shot,
like in "The Revenant".
Some lenses have distinct distortion
and enter the category of fisheye lenses.
This scene from "The Favorite"
uses the unnatural perspective of the fish eye lens
to underscore the absurdity of these characters.
"- The queen has decided, Harley. - I disagree.
A lot.
I'd like an audience with the queen where I may state my case.
- State it to me. I love a comedy."
Fisheye lenses also exaggerate facial features
when used in close proximity.
"- Get in."
Like in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas",
where a fish eye matches the characters distorted
and drug-induced perspective.
"- Look at your face. You're about to explode."
But what if a filmmaker wants a wide angle of view without the noticeable distortion.
They reach for our next lens.
The wide angle lens.
Wide angle lenses have a focal length between 24mm and 35mm.
This is great for capturing wide shots, like this shot from "Parasite".
Beyond effecting a shot size
wide angle lenses, also accentuate movement,
which is great for trucking through grocery store isles
as in "Punch Drunk Love".
When used in tight spaces, wide angle lenses can create distance.
"- Who were they?
- You're gonna go beat them up for me?
Huh, stunt guy?"
In this scene from "Drive",
cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel uses a wide lens
to make two characters feel far apart
while also making the audience feel more present.
Wide angle lenses are great for influencing the audience's perspective.
But they can also create a very stylized look.
If a DP wants a more natural look,
they might use our next lens.
The standard lens.
Standard lenses, also called normal lenses,
are lenses between 35mm to 50mm.
The focal length of standard lenses
are most similar to how the human eyes sees the world.
This becomes the ideal choice
when cinematographers want a grounded and natural presentation.
For example, director Luca Guadagnino film "Call Me By Your Name"
was entirely shot on a 35mm lens for this reason.
"- Only one lens, we didn't choose any other lens.
We only shoot with 35mm.
For me to get the sense of human eye and simplicity.
I wanted it to be straightforward.
I didn't want to create technology between the camera and the performance."
"- What does one do around here?
- Wait for the summer to end.
- What do you do in the winter? Wait for summer to come?
- We only come here for Christmas and some other vacations.
- I thought you were Jewish.
- Well, we are Jewish, but also American, Italian, French,
somewhat atypical combination."
A standard lens helps us feel like we're seeing with our own eyes,
allowing us to feel present in the moment and part of the story.
It is the opposite effect of our next lens.
The telephoto lens.
A telephoto lens is any lens with a focal length of 70mm and up.
Often referred to as long lenses.
Telephoto lenses are typically used for capturing distance subjects.
Making us feel like we are observing the scene from afar.
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" has surveillance at the core of its story.
Which motivates a shot like this.
The secrecy and voyeuristic qualities of this scene
are perfectly communicated with the choice of a telephoto lens.
"- I want to talk about loyalty, Toby.
Intelligence has been leaked, Toby.
Someone's been taking files from the service."
Unlike wide angle lenses, telephoto lenses also compress space.
"- Things aren't always what they seem, George. You should know that."
This is great for isolating a character in a crowd.
Like in this shot from "The Pursuit Of Happiness".
Chris Gardner's cathartic moment is amplified and contrasted
by the ambivalent crowd around him.
While this scene uses a telephoto lens to capture a joyous moment
"The Graduate" uses it to capture desperation.
In this scene, Ben is frantically running to stop Elaine's wedding.
The telephoto lens compresses the distance
and flattens the space
making is running up here desperate and futile.
While the last few lenses we've discussed are defined by their focal length
our next two lenses are defined by their focusing abilities.
Macro lenses.
Macro lenses, sometimes referred to as macro lenses,
don't fall within a specific focal range, like our previous sections.
For instance, you could have an extreme wide angle macro lens
with a focal length of 15mm.
Or you could have a telephoto macro lens with a focal length of 200mm.
Macro lenses are defined by their ability
to capture extreme closeup shots with the sharpest detail.
This makes macro lenses perfect for extreme close-up shots.
When choosing macro lenses
there are two things that must be considered.
Magnification ratio and minimum focusing distance.
Macro lenses have a 1:1 magnification ratio,
meaning the size of the image captured
is the same size as in real life.
Other macro lenses can have a 5:1 magnification ratio
meaning the size of the image captured
is five times bigger than real life.
In regards to minimum focusing distance,
this is simply how close
or how far
you need to be to your subject to stay in focus.
If you're shooting distance subjects such as insects,
and don't want to cast shadows or scare them off
you'll want to use a macro lens with a longer focal length.
If you're able to get up close and personal with your subject
and want to include more of the background,
you may opt for macro lens with a shorter focal length.
The macro lens can often feel like a magnifying glass
hovering over important plot details.
And we can't talk about detail without mentioning David Fincher.
In Fincher's investigative films like "Zodiac" and "Se7en"
macro lens shots are used to magnify clues and details
that demand our attention
and force us to participate in the film's investigation.
While we cannot definitively confirm all of these shots were taken with a macro lens
these are the type of extreme closeup shots
that macro lenses are perfect for capturing.
Moving on to our final lens.
The tilt shift lens.
A normal lens gives a consistent plane of focus.
In a tilt shift lens however
the lens focus mechanism can be shifted, left or right,
or tilted up and down to manipulate the image.
In the movie "Game Night",
characters are taken on a journey, similar to a board game.
"- The game that we're going to play tonight is so epic
that we don't need a board and we do not need pieces."
Aerial tilt shift shots are used in the film to create a miniature effect
making houses and large settings appeared like set pieces on a board game.
In the film "The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford"
cinematographer Roger Deakins wanted to use the blurring effects of a tilt shift lens.
However, he wanted to modify the tilt shift lens
to create a more dreamy, vintage and stylized look
that matches many of the photographs taken in that time period.
So he teamed up with "Otto Nemenz International",
to create the appropriately named Deakinizer lens.
A riff on the tilt shift lens that also diffracts colors
and vignettes the image.
The result is a completely unique visual style
that echoes the time period of the film.
So these are the six types of lenses
most commonly used by cinematographers today.
Different lenses can capture the same subject in a completely different way.
So let's try and experiment by using one of the most common types of scenes in a film.
The dialogue scene.
Pay attention to each example
and how the lens choice
affects the mood and feel of the scene.
We'll start with an extreme wide angle lens.
"- I'm trying to do something important!
- This is not important! - It's important to me!"
In this scene from "Birdman", we can see the extreme wide angle lens
creating a subtle fish eye effect.
"- ...this is... God, this is my career!"
The film was shot entirely on extreme wide angle lenses.
This helped create an intimate and seamless look
while also creating a slight distortion.
"- It's not important, okay? You're not important-- get used to it!"
Echoing the surrealism of the film.
"- Birdman: The Phoenix Rises."
Now, here's a scene shot with a more standard wide angle lens.
"- What can I do for you, sir?
- Well, sir, it's this rug l have.
It really tied the room together.
- You told Brandt on the phone. He told me.
Where do l fit in?"
In this scene from "The Big Lebowski",
the wide angle lens provides a flatter image
without any noticeable distortion
perhaps to highlight a more grounded story.
"- Yes. Yes.
- Oh, so you know that they were trying to piss on your rug.
- Did l urinate on your rug?
- I mean, did you personally come and pee on my rug?
- Hello. Do you speak English, sir?
¿Parla usted inglés?
I'll ask you again.
Did I urinate on your rug?"
It also creates a bit more distance between our two characters
who are clearly on opposing sides of the issue.
"- Come on, man. l'm not trying to scam anybody here, you know."
Now let's look at a scene shot with a standard lens.
"- What the matter?
What's bothering you?
I'll handle it.
I'll told you I can handle it, I handle it."
This scene from "The Godfather",
you can see how a standard lens
brings the characters a bit closer
while still making the audience feel more present.
"- I knew that Santino would have to go through all this.
And Fredo...
Fredo was, well...
But I never wanted this for you."
It is said that Francis Ford Coppola
shot the majority of the film on a standard 40mm lens,
perhaps to ensure an unbiased neutral look into organized crime.
And finally an example using a telephoto lens.
"- Captain.
Relax.
Nobody gets hurt.
No al qaeda here.
Just business.
We want money."
In this scene from "Captain Phillips",
the use of a telephoto lens captures the tone perfectly.
It provides a voyeuristic perspective
as if the audience is hiding, like the rest of the crew,
trying not to be seen by the Somali pirates.
"- Hey!
- Look at me. - Sure.
I'm the captain now."
All of these scenes are standard dialogue scenes.
But as you can see the lens they were shot on,
makes them all uniquely different.
Understanding the unique characteristics of every type of lens
will not only help you capture a better shot,
but will help you tell a better story.
You'll find a link in the description for our free e-book on camera lenses.
The lenses we've covered in this video are all spherical lenses.
In a separate video, we'll discuss how
anamorphic lenses bring an entirely new dimension to lens choice.
And in the next episode of the shot list,
we'll explore frame rate
and how different frame rates directly affect how an audience experiences a scene.
Subscribe, click the bell, and we'll see you again
in the next episode,
♪ ♪