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Basic Filming Rules Part 1: Depth of Field and Point of Focus

There is a basic language of film that allows the audience to understand the story that is being related by a director. One of the major aspects of filming is putting those things that you want the audience to pay the most attention in focus. What the viewer pays attention to changes the story being told. Not being able to know where to look can cause confusion. The last thing that a good director wants to give off is a muddled message.

This concept of mixed messages is partially because a camera can allow many things to be in focus at the same time. The distance between the closest thing in focus and the furthest thing in focus is known as the depth of field. If used correctly, this aspect of what you see on the screen can have an effect on how the story is interpreted. In the figure below are three identical scenes, but the depth of field changes the expectation due to context. In the top situation, there is just a shark in focus with blurry objects around it. This means that the shark is the only point of interest, and the viewer can focus their attention on the details of that aquatic animal. In the middle situation, the depth of field includes both the shark and the fish in front of it, implying that the shark is hunting this fish. In this situation, it is likely that the little fish is about to become a snack for the shark. Finally, in the bottom scene, there is a shark between a small fish and a plant. Since all three items are in focus, the audience will expect that the three will interact with each other. It is more likely that the shark is hunting the smaller fish and the smaller fish will attempt to get past the shark to the safety of the plant. The point of focus tells us the main character, but the depth of field tells us the setting and the other characters plus implications of interaction.

DEPTH OF FIELD AND FOCUS

The picture of the woman above shows a smaller depth of field on the left. The focus is on her alone with the extreme foreground and background being blurred focuses the viewer's attention is on her alone which makes one consider what she is wearing, the way she is sitting, and even her expression. She is the only point of focus; that picture is about her. The same woman on the right is in a picture with a much larger depth of field and it allows the viewer to acknowledge the setting. Where is she? Why is she there? Her hair, her necklace, and the pattern on her dress seem to be mimicking the hanging branches around her. There is an open field behind her. Is she attempting to blend in? Is she hiding from something in the woods behind her? It all depends on what story the director wants to tell. Here are some examples of how depth of field can be used (or misused) in the context of cinematography.

Using Depth of Field to Create Unease and Chaos

In one of the earlier scenes in the movie The Revenant (2015), there is an attack on the fur trader camp by the Arikara natives. The camera follows many different characters and constantly scans all over the scene. There are no cuts for a long period of time, and the depth of vision is as large as possible. This does not give the audience a sense of where to look and that danger could be coming from anywhere. It replicates that sense of panic and surge of adrenaline when there is life-or-death danger resulting in utter chaos. It is very confusing for the viewer and causes almost a nauseating feel while trying to figure out what needs to be done to escape. The story is completely put on hold for 5 minutes of utter confusion...and that is the story that the director wanted to tell. Goals and destinations did not really matter for this brief moment in time, only survival. There are brief moments when there will be focus on a single yelling character, almost as if their words are sinking in amongst the carnage. But then that person will be silenced by death or by engagement in battle and the point of focus changes. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu used similar techniques in his other films, including Birdman (2014) and Babel (2006), but never before as well as he did in this film. A majority of the credit should go to the Director of Photography, Emmanuel Lubezki, who was able to capture the chaos by adjusting the aperture (change the focus and depth of field) while chasing the action through a forest for one long, practically seamless cut.

Using Depth of Field for a Visual Gag

I remember seeing the first Harry Potter movie back in the early 2000s and thought it was a lot of fun. I especially appreciated the dark tone despite it being a children's film (I was not as familiar with the Young Adult genre at the time). It reminded me a lot of the dark fantasy films like Legend, The Dark Crystal, or The Never-Ending Story. One scene in particular made me laugh very hard when I rented and rewatched the Harry Potter film, and for the longest time I could not tell why. It is the scene when Harry first encounters Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and Malfoy runs away like a coward. When Harry and Malfoy first encounter the cloaked figure, there are a couple of close-up shots of the boys' faces where the depth of field is very short leaving the forest to look hazy in the background. This tells us that the boys feel trapped because they are alone with this creature, surrounded basically by the dark unknown. Not funny and very serious. But Malfoy then screams and runs away with the large dog that is supposed to be protecting them. Slightly comical but still serious. We then get a shot of Harry, and the depth of field is actually extended into the background pretty far which made me think that Hagrid (the giant that was supposed to be protecting them) or something else would come from behind. However, I was fooled because, instead of a savior or perhaps something worse, Malfoy runs across the back of shot still screaming and carrying the only lamp. It gives the audience hope for a second that something will save Harry and instead solidifies that he is probably screwed because the only beings that knew where he was were running away in a panic and taking the only light source and possible source of protection. It is this feeling of "maybe there will be help after all...nope, still screwed" that makes me laugh each time. Eventually, a creature does come to the rescue from that direction at the last possible moment, but that subversion of expectations with a simple film trick is genius in my opinion.

Completely Screwing Up with Depth of Field

One of my favorite things about having a very basic understanding of filming is you can actually understand why bad films are so awful and get a good chuckle out of it. A personal favorite bad movie is the film R.O.T.O.R. (1987), which tells the story of a cyborg cop that goes crazy and starts killing people for minor infractions. It sounded like a mix between The Terminator and Robocop, so I checked it out. It had been covered by both RiffTrax and RedLetterMedia by the time I saw it, so I knew that it was supposed to be comically bad. The particular scene depicted above is snipped from YouTube (you can watch it for free with ads), and it is the ending action scene from the movie. You wouldn't know that from the clip, though. The blonde guy and the woman in red are trying to escape as the woman kicking by the lake is fending off the cyborg cop. The cinematography is telling me that there is fighting in the background that is unimportant to the story. I would then assume that the people in the foreground are the point of interest, and we will follow them. Nope. The next shot focuses on the two people fighting by the lake. If you look closely, the point of focus in this shot is actually a little cord that goes through the scene and attaches to the tree on the right. That means it's important, right? Nope. So, this shot contains a cyborg death match and the fleeing protagonists, but focuses on a little cord that is in between them? Yep. This shot goes on for about 5 seconds and it is completely confusing in the funniest way. This is a perfect example of how to screw up depth of field.

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There is so much more to a good movie than just the pictures in front of your face. There is often a story within the story, and one needs to recognize the tools to truly appreciate the full effort and the message that is in a film. I feel like it is the understanding of filmmaking at this deeper level that really allows a viewer to enjoy film.

#depth of field #cinematography #language of film #understanding media #psychology #point of focus #film school