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Depth of Field
If an image is out of focus you won’t want to bother looking at it. A filmmaker can use focus to make the audience pay attention to certain details within the narrative. Selective focus can be used to draw attention to someone’s face, for example. The background and other details can be downplayed by keeping them out of focus. The area of the frame that is in sharp focus is called the depth of field. The depth of this area is determined by the length of lens and size of aperture used. Generally speaking, a wide-angle lens has a greater depth of field than a telephoto lens — that is, more of the image will be in focus with a wide-angle lens.
Types and uses
There are two main types and usages of depth of field.
Deep focus. The term deep focus is applied to films that have everything in focus, from the foreground to the distant background. Deep focus films need lots of light, a small camera aperture, a fast wide-angle lens and fast film stock. Deep focus tends to favour long takes. With so much of the frame in focus there is more information for the audience to absorb. Therefore there is a greater need to linger on the shot. Deep focus also favours the ‘invisible style’ of continuity editing. Movies using deep focus include Citizen Kane (1941), Jaws (1975) and The Untouchables (1987). Because deep focus mimics the operation of the human eye, it creates a greater sense of realism (see page 229). The filmed image looks more like the real world. Some critics say this allows the audience to make up their own minds about meaning a lot more easily — just as in real life.
Selective focus. Many modern films use a selective focus or shallow focus technique, where only some of the shot is in focus. Selective focus or shallow focus relies more on quick cutting and lots of close-ups. It is therefore more suited to montage editing and the quicker pace of many films. Selective focus is often said to be less realist in its approach, and more expressive and personal. Because the audience seems to see less of the real world, the director’s personal view is strengthened. A film that exemplifies the selective focus approach is Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001).
