Rack Focus with Narrow DOF

DOF or Depth of Field is used by a filmmaker to guide viewers to what he wants them to look at.

One method, often used to direct your gaze, is the rack-focus. The shot will be focused on the one element that requires your attention. The rest of the shot will be out of focus or blurred. When the filmmaker wants to change your attention to another element in the shot he focuses on it, and by design, blurs the element in focus initially.

Here's a poorly executed rack-focus, but I'm sure you can appreciate the potential.



This is one reason a narrow DOF lens is a must. It captures the film look as well as allowing the ability to create a rack-focus.

Remember, for the most part, FAST lenses give good narrow DOF, and when using a zoom lens the longer the focal length (zoomed-in) the narrower the DOF.

For more info on DOF see:

http://oldlensesnew.blogspot.com/2012/07/dof-elusive-optical-gold-bokeh.html

No comments: