Tilt shift & Select Focus Lenses for OTS and CU

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mainstream180 said:

I've been working on trying to really hammer down my style of directing and my preference of shots i.e. my trademarks. Much like everybody else I really want to have something that people instantly recognize and will associate with me e.g. Paul Greengrass has his shaky cam, Michael Bay has his MTV style quick cuts and effects, Terry Gilliam and his irregular camera angles and virtually exclusive use of rectilinear ultra wide angle lenses and then of course J.J. Abram's and his lens flares etc

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This seems like a very strange way to approach developing a style - the three directors you mention use these stylistic trademarks (and it's curious that you mention only visual features of their films) as a consequence of the types of films they make. If a style doesn't develop somewhat organically is it really a reflection of the director's artistic sensibilities or is it just a pretension, a desire to ape the big boys? I would be far more concerned with how my direction developed the film than how it reflected upon me.

I was wondering though; do any already famous directors use tilt shift and selective focus lenses like lensbabies for their over the shoulder and close up shots?

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I can think of a few DoPs who make use of the LensBaby for specific sequences (David Mullen ASC in particular) but I'm not aware of any directors who have made tilted focus a signature part of their look - I wouldn't be surprised if there were, though.

I really like the idea of positioning the sweet spot on the person that the OTS is looking on with the other persons shoulder being completely out of focus. Or alternatively with a closeup the sweet spot being on the object or persons face with the world around them being blurred out -- hence drawing greater attention to what I'm trying to show.

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To do what you're describing here doesn't require a tilt-shift lens at all; any fast glass on a reasonably large format (think S16 and larger) will easily allow you to keep only one plane in focus. A tilt focus lens would only be required if you didn't want the plane of focus to be perpendicular to the imager, for instance if you were shooting a mural at 45° to the wall and wanted the whole thing to be sharp.

Very good points chilipie. I definitely see where you're coming from, especially in regards to how a directors style is very much the result of his work i.e. one style that works wonders on a chick flick might look dreadful on a horror movie.

I really appreciate your feedback!!!

To kind of comment on what you've said but also to provide you with some further insight I'm going to repost something i posted in the cinematography part of this forum (please let me know what you think as well!)

In the next few weeks though I will be shooting a short film with two actors by myself. The film is set in a small meeting room in an office building. The short film is about a person who is going for a job interview and reveals their true sinister intentions for being there during the interview.

The room is quite well light with fluorescent light fixtures in the ceiling and otherwise the room is quite sparse, with a round table in the center and chairs around it. On one side is a glass wall that is tinted so that you can't really see in but you can see that the light is on.

Equipment wise I have:
--Canon 550D
--Two work lights
--two 5 in one 80cm reflectors
NOTE: I also live in New Zealand so ordering further equipment (e.g. china balls) off filmtools etc is always problematic especially on my low budget.

What i want to add to the finished project is a reddish tint -- red being in line with the fact that the interviewee is there to kill his interviewer. Now i know a colorist could push the shadows etc to the color red. But should i do anything during the production itself? I was thinking about adding a red gel over one work light and shining that through the tinted glass wall and potentially another work light inside the room with a red gel over it with its light being bounced off a wall opposite the actors. Would doing all that be a good idea?

Also should maybe the interviewee wear a red tie? And should i hang a red painting on the wall?

Further ideas that I would love you guys to comment on as well"
--After reading Sidney Lumet's book Making Movies - I got the idea of using different lenses for different characters. In this case I would like to use a lensbaby for the OTS and CU shots of the Interviewee. The out of focus edges are almost a commentary on how hes so single-minded and removed from the world.
--Also an idea that what was inspired by Sidney is that of changing camera heights -- At the start of the interview I want the camera high on the Interviewer but then by the end low on him and high on the Interviewee to show the change in power since at the beginning we assume its just a normal interview which makes the interviewer the one in control until we learn hes not.

Let me know what you guys think. I would really appreciate it!

mainstream180 said:

ordering further equipment (e.g. china balls) off filmtools etc is always problematic especially on my low budget

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There's plenty of filmmakers in Los Angeles who can't afford official Film Tools gear either. Time to get creative with your needs. There's dozens of DIY solutions for just about any piece of equipment you want to build, and YouTube videos to show you how.

Welcome to the site, btw.

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Thanks Zensteve and I definitely agree with you on the DIY stuff. The rig that I use with my canon camera is all DIY, from the cage, shoulder rig to the follow focus

I was thinking though: I might purchase some trouble lights similar to these ones: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/1003545...5#.UT1u3Tvp0sB

Would it be better to hang one behind the two actors and one in front -- both with red gels OR maybe red bulbs OR blue bulbs inside of red paper lanterns (which would be better?) and then also use the rooms practical lighting for the rest -- thus doing away with the work lights entirely.

Check out the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Rodrigo Prieto used the colors red and green to indicate if a character was up or down. In May 2010 he gave an interview to American Cinematographer in which he described the process.

mainstream180 said:

What i want to add to the finished project is a reddish tint -- red being in line with the fact that the interviewee is there to kill his interviewer. Now i know a colorist could push the shadows etc to the color red. But should i do anything during the production itself? I was thinking about adding a red gel over one work light and shining that through the tinted glass wall and potentially another work light inside the room with a red gel over it with its light being bounced off a wall opposite the actors. Would doing all that be a good idea?

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Having the glass wall glow red could look fantastic. I'm not so sure about having even more red light inside the room - but that's entirely a matter of taste, perhaps you had something like this in mind.

I'm not sure of the exact room layout, so this may not work, but I'd consider using a white light as a key (i.e. the dominant light in the scene) from one side and the red glass wall as fill from the other. That way you get your red shadows, which you can push further in post if needed. If you include the window in at least one shot, you can establish where the light is coming from.

Also should maybe the interviewee wear a red tie? And should i hang a red painting on the wall?

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Great ideas: good cinematography is nothing without solid production design.

Further ideas that I would love you guys to comment on as well"
--After reading Sidney Lumet's book Making Movies - I got the idea of using different lenses for different characters. In this case I would like to use a lensbaby for the OTS and CU shots of the Interviewee. The out of focus edges are almost a commentary on how hes so single-minded and removed from the world.
--Also an idea that what was inspired by Sidney is that of changing camera heights -- At the start of the interview I want the camera high on the Interviewer but then by the end low on him and high on the Interviewee to show the change in power since at the beginning we assume its just a normal interview which makes the interviewer the one in control until we learn hes not.

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All of these could work well, it's just a case of experimenting and seeing which techniques have the effect you want.

Think about focal length and shot composition, too; if you haven't already seen The King's Speech it has some wonderful examples of how wide lenses and unbalanced composition can be used to unsettle the viewer.

And remember: sound is 50% of the experience. Have a look at APE's thread The Principles of Sound Design and take it from there.

I definitely agree that a glowing red wall would definitely produce an interesting look. I'll try and take some photos of the room that I intend on using sometime but otherwise I also agree with your other suggestions.

THANK YOU CHILIPiE!!!