Depth of Field!

 What is it? Depth of field means the range of focus on a photograph or film. It shows the audience the distance between the nearest and furthest objects that are in acceptably  sharp focuses in order to convey a message. There are many types of depth of fields but I am going to be focused on deep, shallow and soft.

1) Stills from Existing Media

a)

A still from Good Will Hunting (1997) using deep focus to convey development.
In this specific scene, it shows that the two men are on the same level, and share a somewhat mutual respect.

b) 

A still from Good Will Hunting (1997) using shallow focus to convey conflict.
Even though both men are facing the camera, only one is focus, therefore, isolating him and creating tension.

c)

A still from Carrie (1976) using soft focus to convey conflict.
The soft focus makes it look dreamy and fake, and can be confusing and conflicting.

2) Stills created by me!

a) 

A still using deep focus to convey character.
Shows the people at the bottom possibly reflecting by having them looking at the sunset. The deep focus gives the audience more things to look at, and feel more apart of the scene.

b)

A still using shallow focus to convey character.
The shallow focus here further helps to isolates and put attention to the plush than being in the middle already did. It shows character by showing the plush stands out from the others in the background.

c)

A still using soft focus to convey conflict. The soft focus adds a fuzzy and “dizzy” effect from the guy’s perspective. It shows that he is unwell, and may be suffering from the heat or a headache. 

3) Written Reflection

Even though I enjoyed doing this particular blog, I know I still have room for improvement. For me, the hardest part of this blog was how can I use different depth of fields in order to convey conflict, character, and development. But more specifically, soft focus. The only times I’ve seen movies use soft focus was for dream and memory scenes. Trying to make a still look like a dream was difficult, when I  tried to, it looked silly, so I had to change my image last minute. I resorted to making a still where the audience almost has an empathic connection. Basically, the guy’s suffering and his vision is likely blurry and so the camera/our eyes are blurry.

Moving on, for deep focus, I wasn’t sure on how I could use it in order to tell a story. Deep focus is super common in films and so it has a wide range of stories all of them tell. In my photos, I wanted to show a calmer story with a larger setting. So I stuck with a broad theme of reflection, which can definitely be up for interpretation.

Lastly, shallow focus. Of all the depths, this was the most difficult to take photos of. In my other blogs, I only used deep focus, but in this blog, I had to specifically use shallow focus. I take all my photos on my phone, however, my phone can’t use the portrait mode.. which is a big help in talking shallow photos. It took me forever to try and change my settings in order to focus on only one object. But I managed to get it in the end even if it took way too long.

-🍎🧃