Citizen Kane - 4:3 and Deep Focus

[Tainted]

I recently re-watched this classic and both commentary tracks, and although I already knew this, I guess I thought about it a little more this time through. With all of the talk of 35mm, DoF, and widescreen these days, I found it somewhat ironic that one of the best movies of all time (in some people's opinions at least) went to incredible lengths to acheice DEEP FOCUS, not to mention the fact that the film is in a 4:3 aspect ratio -- two things that most indie filmakers try their hardest to move away from.

 

[Blaine]

Yeah, I've read (don't remember exactly where) that the advent of television pushed to the studios to widescreen to try and give viewers something they couldn't get on the small screen.

 

[TheMacB]

i want to do a film in 1:2.35. a tall aspect ratio. that'll get 'em.

deep focus was a big deal because it wasn't easy back then. and it was a new look. paul thomas anderson's films tend to have a pretty deep focus. i think that's what makes it look like a PTA film. particularly boogie nights and magnolia have that really wide lens look.

 

[Lawsuit_Boy]

ah, Citizen Kane. One of my favorites. It definately was an extremely unique film for its time. It really is funny that it was done with techniques that people shy away from these days.

 

[imgentertainment@mac]

That movie is a Classic and one of the reason it is was becuz of the look. That was the one of the first movies that tryed to do something different

 

[windedsailor]

i think one the anamorphic is pushed for because there is a lot more interesting potential in terms of composition, also we see the world in widescreen, then as far as depth of focus, I'm personally a big fan, but frankly anyone can just take off their 35 mm adapter if they want it, I think indie filmmakers have less use for deep focus because they don't have as much money for big sets... but also deep focus and small dof should both be tools in a filmmaker's arsenal... the most important thing is not what it looks like, but what you have to say, and how you say it

 

[GenJerDan]

... but also deep focus and small dof should both be tools in a filmmaker's arsenal...

And you can use both at the same time. There's a shot in A Face In The Crowd with Patsy Neal in the foreground - in focus, Andy Griffith about 4 feet behind her - also in focus, and then the rest of the room beyond that, out-of-focus.

Shallow, deep, makes no difference. What you want to be doing is focusing (pardon the pun) the audience's attention on what you want, whether you do it with DOF, framing, color, light, naked boobies.

 

[krestofre]

I think indie filmmakers have less use for deep focus because they don't have as much money for big sets

Kane doesn't have any big sets. It's all smoke and mirrors. Even Xanadu wasn't a big set. That film is really a marvel in illusion. Most of the grandious scenes (political rally for example) were constructed with very little visuals and mostly sound. That's a lesson we can all use, eh?

 

[Josh_Boelter]

i want to do a film in 1:2.35. a tall aspect ratio. that'll get 'em.

I heard Eddie Izzard say that once. He was joking, but his reasoning was that a concert film for a standup comedian should be tall-screen rather than wide-screen to focus on the comedian. He said he'd make a DVD that would force you to turn your wide-screen TV on its side.

 

[Joshua Provost]

I recently re-watched this classic and both commentary tracks, and although I already knew this, I guess I thought about it a little more this time through. With all of the talk of 35mm, DoF, and widescreen these days, I found it somewhat ironic that one of the best movies of all time (in some people's opinions at least) went to incredible lengths to acheice DEEP FOCUS, not to mention the fact that the film is in a 4:3 aspect ratio -- two things that most indie filmakers try their hardest to move away from.

I recently made a noir-esque suspense film, and shot for the first time in 4:3, to evoke the period. I tried to get rather shallow focus out of the camera. Combine that with the deep focus many were trying to achieve at the time, and hopefully we got close to the look.