Depth of field is the range of focus in a shot. There are two ranges of this –

A “shallow focus” is when there is a small depth of field and only one part of the image is in focus while the rest is blurry. An example of this is used in the film “Fathers and Daughters”, where it focuses on Katie’s face and her reactions, so the audience is fully focusing on that rather than anything else in the background.

A “deep focus” uses a large depth of field, so the whole of the scene is in focus for the audience. An example of this is used in the film “Ex Machina”, and in this scene we can see other people in the background and what is going on around the humanoid.

A “Crab Left” camera movement means for a handheld camera operator to walk sideways (like a crab). The technique is often used to follow a subject that would otherwise leave the frame such as an actor or vehicle in motion.  An example of this is in a behind-the-scenes video of “Grey’s Anatomy) (2006), and is presented in this scene:

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/jbutler/clips/greysanatomy20061005qq31_33qqdollyshot.mp4/view

“Zooming” in film-making and television production refers to the technique of changing the focal length of a zoom lens (and hence the angle of view) during a shot. An example of this is in the movie “Ratatouille” (2007).

A “Pan Down Shot” is when you rotate a camera on its vertical or horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama. An example of this is used in the film “Psycho” (1960). In the shower scene in this film, the director has used a pan down shot to show Marion’s death.

A Bird’s Eye View is a camera angle used to view an object or a person from above, with the perspective as though the audience were a bird. An example of this is in a scene of the 2017 drama film “To The Bone”, where the main character Eli who suffers from Anorexia, experiences a dream in which it reveals to her how sick she really is and that she needs to accept the help she needs. This is revealed to her by, in the dream, the male protagonist tells her while they are both in a tree, only for Eli to look down and see her naked self on the ground revealing how fatal her disorder has become and what she looks like that she can’t see in real life. This is shown in a bird’s eye view as thought we were Eli looking down at herself.

A canted camera angle is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame. Canted angles are frequently used by film directors such as Tim Burton, and an example of one is used in the film “Edward Scissorhands”. This is used to represent disorientation and drug psychosis.

A high-angle is an angle that looks down on the object/person in order to make them seem vulnerable or powerless. An example of this is used in The Lord of the Rings franchise, specifically the scene where the ring is falling and Frodo is trying to catch it on his finger. This scene shows desperation and hopelessness.

The depth of field is  the range of focus in a shot or photograph , it is an important concept for cinematographers to master  because they need to be able to manipulate focus in order to create the desired effect.

There are two types of focus , shallow focus and deep focus. Shallow focus is when there is only one character in focus and any other characters in the scene are out of focus and blurry and the audience is unable to see them , in contrast, if the scene is in deep focus then all characters can be seen by the audience and none of them are blurred , however , shallow focus can cost the film verisimilitude because real life does not look like shallow focus shots.

This is an example of shallow focus from the first Kill Bill film (2004, directed by Quentin Tarantino) and it helps to emphasise the fact that The Bride (Uma Thurman)  is the most important character in the scene and the characters in the background are irrelevant.

This scene from Citizen Kane (1941 , directed by Orson Welles) utilizes deep focus and this can be used in order to show that all characters in the scene are of equal importance and they are relevant to the plot of the film. Furthermore , deep focus makes the audience feel included in the world of the film because it helps to create verisimilitude because it reflects how the real world actually looks and it helps the film to create an accurate illusion of reality which shallow focus does not do.

Depth of field is the range of focus in a shot – whether the whole scene is in focus or if the camera if only focused on one part.  A shallow focus, also called a small depth of field, is when only one part of the scene is in focus while the rest is blurry and unfocused. A deep focus uses a large depth of field, so the whole of the scene is in focus for the audience.

An example of a small depth of field is in The Circle (dir. James Ponsoldt, 2017).

In this scene, only Mae is in focus, while everyone else sitting along the row is blurred. The director has chosen to use this shot so that the audience know that they should be focusing on her. This shot emphasises that she is the main character. It causes the audience to pay close attention to her face and her facial expressions, so they understand how they should be responding to the scene. This type of depth of field is used by directors in scenes when one character is important, and the audience need to be directed to look at them. It is useful because any irrelevant things that are happening in the background can be out of focus, so the viewers don’t look at it.  If the director had wanted the audience to look at everyone in the scene equally, then he would have chosen to use a larger depth of field, so that they would all be in focus. This kind of depth of field is often used to show characters who all have equal importance in the scene. This means that the viewers will look at everyone rather than just focusing on one section.

A long Shot is used to place an object or human figure in some relation to its surroundings. For example, in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a very wide shot is used that keeps all the protagonists on screen with the Wizard’s palace in clear view. This captures the importance of their surroundings because they have finally reached the destination they’ve been searching for the entire movie, therefore revealing the full palace to the audience with the characters looking up at it highlights their amazement.

A close-up is a technique used to tightly frame a person or object in order to put the audience’s full focus on it. An example of this is used in the 1980 horror film “The Shining”. During the infamous scene of Jack breaking through the door with an axe and reveals his face yelling “Here’s Johnny!” in order to terrorize his wife, the close-up on his face captures the psychotic-ness within Jack’s mind and shows how he has truly lost his mind influenced by the ghosts.

A medium shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. They are typically used to film the dialogue of a group of people in order to show the audience a partial view of the background, the character’s facial expressions and the context of their body language. An example of this is the scene in “My Sister’s Sister” (2011 comedy film) where Hannah reveals to her sister and her sister’s friend (the male protagonist) that she wants to become impregnated, despite being a lesbian, after drunkenly sleeping with the male protagonist. This scene is filmed with a medium shot so the audience is shown each of the character’s reactions and also the background of the woods so we are aware of the atmosphere.

Depth of field refers to the focus and clarity of the different layers of mid, fore and background. Sometimes, they can all be clear and well-focused, but typically; some are blurred out to bring attention to a certain aspect. For example; sometimes a mid and background is blurred out to bring attention to any subject in the foreground

Shallow focus involves the emphasis on one certain aspect of the scene, and highlights it by blurring out everything else to draw the audience’s attention to it straight away

Deep focus refers to the clear focus and clarity of all frames to ensure that the scene is neat, sharp and in clear focus

A good example of a film which utilises depth of field is ‘Social network’ (2010, by David Fincher) The background is blurred, to allow us to instantly recognise and focus on the main character. This indicates that the character is the relevant thing to look at because everyone else is blurred out. The character to our right, is not as blurred; expressing that he is also significant to the plot

The scene from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in which we are introduced to Willy Wonka’s childhood is a great example of diegesis within a film. This is because it is an narrated explanation to Willy Wonka’s behaviour such as his hate towards families and confusion when Charlie chooses to stay with his family rather than going to the chocolate factory. It also explains his obsession with candy due to strictly not being allowed it as a child, even on Halloween. It also explains his sociopathic tendencies due to lack of sympathy when each of the children suffers from his factory and his lack of understanding when each of the parents shows concern towards their bratty children. Overall, it is an explanation for the entire plot and it turns the movie into not only an artistic creative “wonderland” type of movie but it also turns it into a family movie when Willy Wonka re-unites with his dad and finally gets to understand the importance of family.

“The Blair Witch Project” is a great example of intra-diegetic gaze because it is filmed as a “documentary” and we are constantly put in the character’s peripheral and point of view. The scene where the main character is exploring the house and is being chased by the witch causes a feeling of panic for the audience as we are experiencing what the character is experiencing.

“Fight club” is an example of breaking the fourth wall as the character broke the fourth wall and spoke to us, meaning they ignored the imaginary “wall” that keeps the actors from the audience. It is used to engage the audience and focus the attention onto specific character traits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hoG0jWkMso[/embed]