Depth of Field...

D

DVX100Shooter

Veteran
They film a TV show here in Philly called Hack (CBS on Saturday nights!) anyway, I was checking this one shot in this scene that looked cool and wondered how I could get that same look. I am sure I would need a special lens though. But it was a low angle close up shot of an actor from the behind and it was framed with the top of the City Hall building in frame. It looked like the actor could reach out and touch the steeple part of the building which is very high in the air.

Is this achieved by placing the camera further away from the talent but then zoom in to place the talent and that steeple in the same shot? You didn't see the whole building just the top part with the clock (if your familiar with the City hall building in Philadelphia)

I have seen this effect in many movies over time as well where they make the moon look closer than what it really is. For example like in I think the movie ET there was a shot where the moon seemed like it was right in front of the camera sort of.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

Without actually seeing the example you are talking about, I would imagine one could pull this off with the use of stairs.

Here is what I mean...

The camera is not 2' behind the actor, but maybe the actor is at the top of a long flight of steps (the kind you see in the urban areas that lead to the huge buidlings).

Maybe the camera is at the bottom and zoomed in all the way and the talent is at the top!

The ET shot is most likely a product of ILM.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

alot of shots are special effect shots, where the object isnt really there, so the distance can be exaggerated one way or the other, but yes, if you want object to appear closer together, you use a longer lense, a wider lense gives images a greater appearance of separation.

heres a little study on the issue:
http://www.cybercollege.com/tvp011.htm
 
Re: Depth of Field...

I didn't see the shot, but I think IAL's on the right track. Telephoto lenses have the effect of compressing distance, bringing distant objects "closer" in the shot. A long, long telephoto lens could flatten a shot significantly. As IAL said, it's the opposite effect with fisheyes & wide angles, which tend to exaggerate the distance between objects, whereas telephoto's tend to minimize the distance between objects.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

BUt with the far end of a telephoto lens, you shorten the depth of field (tough to do in video I know), so the more telephoto you use, the less chance you have of two objects far away from each other, both being in focus...

Michael
 
Re: Depth of Field...

Well, yes, that is true, and the subject of this message is also "depth of field", but I think that's not really what the poster meant (unless I'm wrong). I think DVX100Shooter was asking how to get two disparate objects, so far apart, to look like they were in the same frame, compressing the distance between them. The only way I know of to do that is with a long telephoto lens.

It would take a lot of light, so you could stop down quite a bit, and you'd probably want to be really far away from them (because distance to subject increases DOF) and zoomed in really, really far (backing up would help to cancel out some of the shallow DOF properties of the longer lens).

But hey, that's just a guess, 'cause I didn't see the shot so I don't know what all might be necessary.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

I just assumed that if the two objects appeared to be in the same shot, they should also both be in focus. I did not see the shot mentioned either, so I am only guessing as well. Depth of field allows for seperation of objects within the same frame.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

Upon first reading the post I didnt catch any question regarding the use of a diopter.

I thought he was trying to figure out how to frame something.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

The way I read the question was how to make a shot of a guy from behind look like he could just reach out and touch the top of the building. In order to make such great distances appear as they were that close would be to remove any short depth of field play since one or the other would be out of focus and this would be just like any other "pull focus" shot. But if both objects were in focus, despite our knowing that they are ineed far way from each other, they would appear to the eye to be in th esame focal plane, thus right near each other. In some cases, the split focuse diaptor will do the trick if you can hide the line between the two like aligning the edge of a building, horizon etc.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

Dumb question here:

Do they make a horizontal diopter? Even so, it's be tough to frame and hide the line :P

I thought he just wanted to know how to get the building all up on it.
 
Re: Depth of Field...

I've done that using 35mm. On the top of Stone Mountain, GA back in the dark ages on my honeymoon, I had my wife stand with her arm raised with palm up (kinda like the egyptian hieroglyphics we've all see). Just at the base of her palm was the city of Atlanta --I don't know, about 40 miles away I guess. Anyway, I used my telephoto lens, stopped way down (I think it was next to closed), and speed 400 film set and shutter at maybe 30 or so. I only focused on her plam and about 1/3 of her forearm and of course Atlanta. Both were in perfect focus and more then anything else it looked like a persons hand holding model of Atlanta in her hand. It was a clear day and the clouds just happened to be beyond Atlanta so it gave a very surreal effect.

-Rodger
 
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