Читать книгу Cinematography for Directors - Jacqueline Frost - Страница 10
ОглавлениеCHAPTER 3
THE AESTHETICS OF LENSES
I don’t have a preference for primes or zooms, unless we are shooting anamorphic. I think zooms are a part of film language these days and people understand them. I don’t think they throw audiences off. Ultimately the subjective viewpoint of the camera is accentuated by the zoom and that can be a great benefit.
(Matthew Libatique, ASC, Frost interview)
The lens is the eye of the camera, replicating human vision or distorting it. Lenses can show a portion of what is important to see in the shot or reveal beyond what human perception would see. Lens quality keeps improving and the selection of the lenses is an essential component in the storytelling process. For a director, understanding the basics of focal length will have an impact on the visual translation of the scene. Utilizing depth of field can isolate the focal range or enhance it depending on whether it is wide angle, normal, or telephoto. This tells the audience what is important within the scene, highlighting where to look.
Lens selection, along with composition and framing, are the areas of cinematography where the director can be the most influential. Discovering what is the most important image in the shot from a storytelling perspective is the first thing to understand. With a wide angle shot the subject will be in their environment, we will see details in the background. With a longer lens, such as a telephoto, the background will become soft focus, highlighting the subject in the shot. The lens engages the audience by directing their visual perception and showing them what to look at within the scene.
When the cinematographer sets up the requested shot, the first question she or he will ask is: “What focal length does the director want: wide, medium, or close?” The director may respond with a hand gesture just above the waist indicating a medium shot, or just below the neck indicating a close-up, or say “give him a haircut,” meaning a more extreme close-up. Understanding focal length — wide, normal, or telephoto — is key to communicating the desired composition with a cinematographer. The lens is not only a technical tool to capture the image but also an aesthetic one, and understanding how to use depth of field and focal length to tell your story is an essential tool of visual storytelling.
WHAT DOES THE LENS DO?
The lens allows light to enter and hit the sensor or film plane resulting in exposure of the latent image. Controlling the amount of light is done through exposure calculation designated by the lighting conditions and the selection of the f-stop as indicated from the light meter reading. F-stops regulate the exposure and the diameter of the iris opening of the lens determines how much light enters the camera for the exposure. The selection of focal length and the f-stop provides the depth of field in the shot. The cinematographer will read the light as it falls on the subject, which calculates the f-stop that should be used for exposing the scene. There are two series of numbers on the lens the t-stop and the f-stop. The t-stop is the true light transmission, and the f-stop regulates exposure and is used for calculating depth of field.
You can feel the weight of the glass in a good quality lens. The difference in image quality is very evident if you use an inexpensive kit lens over a quality cine lens. Today’s lenses have become sharper and crisper than ever working with digital capture.
The cinematographer will be of great assistance in helping you, the director on the selection of lenses that will work best with the story being told and the camera and aspect ratio being utilized.
Cinematographers may want to test the some of the lenses to see how they read the light and contrast and these tests are shared with directors. There are some older lenses selected by cinematographers because of the way they capture a slightly softer image, other lenses like the Panavision Primo Primes or Zeiss high-speed primes are much sharper and crisper and may be selected because they can be shot wide open at a (faster) t-stop of 1.0 instead of the standard 2.8. A lens is considered “fast” if the iris opening opens to 1.4 or below which allows additional light to enter the camera. A fast lens is helpful for shooting in lower-light situations. But keep in mind shooting “wide open” also affects depth of field creating a more critical focus situation. Lenses that are not high-speed usually open to f/2.8, and slow lenses will open to f/4, which means that additional light may be needed in darker lighting scenarios for exposure.
■ On selecting lenses for Brokeback Mountain: Ang (Lee) originally wanted to use Cooke Panchros because he wanted a softer image. He didn’t want something really hard-edged and stark. I usually use the Ultra Primes because I like high contrast and very, very sharp images. We did side-by-side comparisons of Ultra Primes, Panchros, and Cooke S4 primes. We concluded that our best bet was the S4’s because they have a wider gamut of lenses than the Panchros, and they match better from one lens to another. The S4’s felt a tiny bit less harsh and a touch warmer than the Ultra Primes. If we needed a little extra softness, we used a bit of diffusion.
(Rodrigo Prieto, American Cinematographer, January 2006, 60)
1. Brokeback Mountain
THE BASICS OF LENSES
Basically, there are two types of lenses: the prime lens, which has a fixed focal length, and the zoom lens, which has a variable focal length. Prime lenses are made to do just one job, to maintain a single focal length. For example, an 8 mm prime, or a 27 mm prime, or a 32 mm prime, is each only designed to be one specific focal length. If the director has selected a certain focal length, like 27 mm, and wants to move in a little closer, the camera will have to be physically moved, or the lens will have to be changed to a longer focal length to get a little closer. There are cinematographers who prefer to work with primes because of the size of the lenses, and they prefer to move the camera to accommodate the shot rather than zoom in, because to zoom in will affect what remains in focus in the background. The zoom will compress the space, where the prime will not compress the space unless it is a longer focal length. With a prime lens, the camera can be as close as several inches away from an actor. It puts the audience very close and intimate with the subject, while keeping the background in acceptable focus.
2. Canon EF Primes
2a. ARRI Zeiss primes
There is a selection of “primes” that range from wide angle, normal, and telephoto, also known as long lenses. Canon EF Cinema prime lenses are 14 mm, 24 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, and 135 mm. Zeiss also makes a beautiful selection of prime lenses.
3a. Canon wide-angle lens
The wide-angle lens creates an exaggerated sense of depth and pulls subjects standing next to each other further apart. The horizontal axis of the frame appears somewhat stretched from the sides. Using this type of lens can distort the subject’s facial features if the camera is placed close to them. If you were trying to achieve a beauty shot the wide-angle lens would not be your first choice since it will pull apart the subjects features in a less flattering way.
Wide-angle lenses and a tremendous depth of field were famously used in the historic Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, and The Magnificent Ambersons, all directed by Orson Welles, influenced by his mentor John Ford, and photographed by Gregg Toland. The use of wide-angle lenses and extreme depth of field and camera angles are used to underscore the essence of the story in Citizen Kane. The choice of enhancing or eliminating depth of field, what is in focus in the background, is a key factor in the selection of lenses.
Wide-angle lenses are also frequently used by Spike Lee in his film Do the Right Thing. The distorted perspective became a part of the visual language of the film.
3a. Do the Right Thing (1989)
In American Beauty, this use of the wide-angle lens distorts the subject into being smaller and further away, diminishing the strength of his character.
Since more of the background remains in focus with wide-angles lenses, they are often used in moving shots. A shorter lens on the Steadicam not only makes the camera lighter, but it is also easier to maintain focus. Moving through the scene with a wide-angle lens while on the Steadicam, dolly, or handheld requires less focus pulling, because more of the image will remain in focus than if a longer lens were in use, because there is more inherent depth of field with a wide-angle lens than with a telephoto lens. The wide-angle lens will also enhance the forward motion, for example an outstretched hand could seem enormous.
3b. American Beauty (1999), use of wide-angle lens
Going beyond the wide-angle lens is the fisheye lens, which is primarily used for effects because it distorts the horizontal edges of the frame in a semicircular format. The GoPro is a great example of a fisheye lens, you can clearly see the sides of the frame curl upwards.
4. & 4a. Wide-angle lens perspective from Requiem for a Dream. Notice the curve of the walls and the depth of the background; used in close-up, it is not the most flattering shot.
Technically speaking focal length is determined by the distance between the optical center of the lens and the focal plane. It is a measurement in millimeters (mm). The focal length directly affects the size of the image within the frame and the angle of view, which reveals how much of the scene the lens can perceive horizontally. In 35 mm film a “normal” lens, which is the closest approximation of human vision is the 50 mm, the equivalent in S16 or a cropped sensor is a 25 mm. Normal vision means the lens sees closest to the way humans see in terms of peripheral vision, which is about 180 degrees. Objects in the background appear similar to the way our eyes would see them and subjects standing next to each other also share the same field of view, not exaggerated or compressed by the physics of optics. The more objective choice of lenses would be the normal lens, because it doesn’t imply a voyeuristic perspective, nor is it so close that it intimidates or distorts the actors. It is your “normal” lens.
■ Ang Lee has his choices of lenses, usually he will do a master shot with a 27 mm, a 25 is too wide angle, medium shots will be 50 mm, close-ups 75 mm, I tried to propose in a certain part of the story going more with a long lens that was hidden, he liked the idea, but when we were shooting it would always be the same lenses, and that’s just his way of working. He would be the director I’ve worked with who was the most specific about lens choices, but it was because he was comfortable with those lenses.
(Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, Frost interview)
6. A “normal” lens (50 mm)
6a. A normal lens perspective from Something’s Gotta Give, directed by Nancy Meyers and photographed by Michael Ballhaus, ASC. This image shows the characters in their environment with some depth of field.
The “normal” range for the 35 mm full-frame sensor would be 32 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, 50–55 mm. It is more of an objective perspective because it has a field of view that replicates more of how humans see not focusing on just one area of the frame, but aware of peripheral vision. There is some depth of field, so the subject is in their environment but not as expansive as with a wide-angle lens. There is no distortion with the close-up as with a wide-angle lens, but also not as much compression of the background as with a telephoto lens. The focal length will vary depending on the size of the sensor.
7. Canon EF 85 mm
7.a. Still from Kramer vs. Kramer, soft background from long focal length.
7.b. This image from Requiem for a Dream was shot with a longer lens, evident by the soft background. The longer lenses are used for portrait-type shots.
Telephoto lenses range from approximately 75 mm to 300 mm and are considered “long” lenses due to the fact that they are physically larger than wide or normal lenses due to the glass they contain to get closer to the subject. They will compress and soften the background focusing the viewer to look only at the subject in focus. These lenses bring the subject closer to the camera without being physically closer to the camera. This is more the beauty shot lens because all you see in the frame is the subject that you have focused on everything else becomes a soft blur. Longer lenses are often used for close-ups.
■ In Amores Perros, we used different focal lengths to tell the stories, in the story of the homeless guy with all the dogs we used longer lenses because we wanted to convey more of a sense of spying because he was going around looking at people, another story was more kinetic, it was all handheld but with different lenses, it was something I brought to Alejandro which he liked.
(Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, Frost interview, July 2007)
8. Arri Prime lenses
With prime lenses, each individual focal length — wide angle, normal, and telephoto — is a single lens. They each have a fixed focal length and they do not zoom or shift focal length like a “zoom” lens does. A set of prime lenses might be something like a 12 mm, 27 mm, 35 mm, 55 mm, 75 mm, and 150 mm, covering your range of wide angle, normal, and telephoto. A zoom lens is one lens with a focal range of 20 mm to 80 mm, or 30 to 300 mm, or the like. There are many combinations but basically the zoom is one lens containing all focal length between its widest focal range and its maximum telephoto.
■ I generally prefer using primes mostly because I like the movies that I work on to have a kind of architecture that relates to those lenses. I’ve shot some movies with mostly just three sizes of lenses. The other thing is that I find if you have a prime on, nobody says, “Why don’t we zoom?” That eliminates that conversation.
(John Lindley, ASC, Frost interview)
■ I like prime lenses, because once we find the frame that we like then that is what we are doing. With zooms the director typically wants to zoom in to get closer, and I would rather move the camera. Sure, it would be faster to just zoom, but then all the coverage will be with a long lens, which could be fine if that’s what you are going for. But I generally prefer to be close with the camera; the feeling of intimacy is very different with a 100 mm or a 40 mm that is close to the actors. It really feels like you are with them, invading their space with the camera a little. For the audience, it’s the difference between being voyeuristic and safe, looking at something or someone from a distance or being right there with them. That’s why primes work better for me because it forces me to move in for coverage.
(Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, Frost interview, July 2007)
■ There is a formal and rigid discipline that using prime lenses gives you. If you are doing a lot of handheld using primes you tend to know exactly what you are getting with the prime.
(Michael Bonvillain, ASC Frost interview)
■ The prime lens makes you think about what kind of shot it is. Is it a 27 mm or a 50 mm? I want the audience to be here looking at this with a wide angle, or I want them to be here looking at the character’s face with a 50 mm, or I want them back here looking at the character’s face on a 200 mm — it’s aesthetically and emotionally a totally different effect. I think just by getting into the regime of changing lenses every time you change a shot, it makes you more aware of what you are doing, and it really doesn’t take any more time to change a lens; in fact, it takes less. And there you have it.
(Roger Deakins, ASC, Frost interview, November 2007)
■ I used to think that primes were better because there is less glass that the light has to go through. But there are zoom lenses that have gotten so good that it doesn’t matter. I do like the convenience of changing things. I think, if I had my choice, I would want the zoom. I love what the zoom does, and I feel that it’s truly a tool of cinema. There is no zoom anywhere else. There is nothing that does what a zoom does. I love using it and I love the long, slow creeping kind of zoom. In the right moment, it could be the best way to describe a certain beat of the film. But I’m not a stickler to one or the other, nor am I stickler to any type of equipment. It’s like my attitude for lighting: If it’s the right for the job, I’ll use a whiskey glass as a lens.
(Harris Savides, Frost interview)
■ Nic Roeg is the master of the zoom. For instance, in Walkabout, the zoom is used for great effect in the outback of Australia where nature is virtually breathing and he would zoom in and out and suddenly these rocks would appear to breathe, incredible to see, magical stuff. The zoom is coming back, and a lot of filmmakers are warming to it again. Of course in the ’70s everyone used it, but I think it has creative uses.
(Seamus McGarvey, ASC, Frost interview)
■ I did all of Good Night, and Good Luck with zoom lenses, two cameras all the way through, two 11 mm–100 mm’s. It’s a matter of taste. But on Paul’s (Thomas Anderson) movies, I don’t think we ever used a zoom lens once.
(Robert Elswit, ASC, Frost interview)
ZOOM LENSES
9. Zoom lens (Canon) up to 200 mm
The zoom has a wide range of focal lengths, it can be a 20–300 mm, which means at its widest opening it is a 20 mm (wide-angle lens) and zoomed in it is 300 mm (telephoto lens) and every focal length in between. The size and weight of the zoom lens is much larger and heavier than the prime lens because of all the glass in the lens for the varying focal lengths. The camera can be placed a further distance from the subject and when zoomed in the subject while be isolated while also softening what is in focus in the background. This can create a slightly voyeuristic quality since the camera is farther away.
10a-d. The Graduate (Zoom out to reveal her isolation)
When the lens is zoomed in it tells the audience only to look at this subject because the background will be completely soft focus. The focus can shift with the zoom lens, racking focus from one subject to another. Using the zoom can be convenient if you are in a difficult-to-control situation and need to zoom into a tighter shot without changing out the lens, such as in a documentary film or when you are grabbing a shot on the fly.
At a longer focal length the zoom lens can get the subject in a closer shot but at the same time it will compress and soften the background, isolating the subject so that they are all we see. These can be very aesthetically pleasing shots, almost like a portrait.
The zoom lens was first used in films in of the late ’60s like Easy Rider for a very obvious effect. The zoom in was like the eye of the audience focusing in on what was being shot and zooming out was taking it away. In The Graduate, the zoom lens is effectively used to isolate Mrs. Robinson in the corner of the room after the affair with Benjamin ends and leaves her small and alone as it zooms out and he walks away.
■ I always use a zoom. If I think I know what the director wants out of a scene and the actors are giving it, I often zoom past one and into the other actor because I think he is coming on; I turn him into #1 by simply driving gently past the other guy. Then I’ve got to race back to the monitor and say, “I’m sorry. I just did a terrible thing. I got so carried away that I pressed the button,” and Anthony (Minghella) would get this wry grin on his face and say, “I loved it, let’s get his reverse now.” So all the little ideas, everything you talked about, come in little ways as you make the film. That’s what I love. If I can’t work with a director like that, I find I get more distant. I think, “Oh, what if?” But I can’t say that, because this director doesn’t want to shoot that way.
(John Seale, ASC, Frost interview, October 2007)
■ I do love working with zooms because they can speed things up a bit. With the Panavision Primo Zooms, I can’t tell the difference between a 40 mm on the zoom and a 40 mm prime; I just can’t see it. I’m sure some people scrutinize it on a collimator to see it falls off at the edge. But when you are watching a film you won’t see any difference. So I use zooms a lot, I like to use zooms on a tracking shot going right to left you can hide a zoom in there and use it for effect.
(Seamus McGarvey, ASC, Frost interview)
■ I like zooms only for particular reasons, to me the effect of the zoom is if someone is focusing their attention on something, it’s like a point of view, narrowing in on something within a frame.
(Roger Deakins, ASC, Frost interview, November 2007)
There is a wide range of zoom lenses available for cinematographers to select from depending on the needs of the production. For example, the Zeiss 21–100 mm, or a 70–200 mm or 28–80 mm compact zoom. There is a 45–250 mm Arri Alura T2.6 Studio Zoom. The range of focal lengths and the size and cost of the lens would depend on the needs of the production.
11. Assassination of Jesse James, photographed by Roger Deakins, ASC
Since the prime lens is created to do just one job many believe that the prime lens is much sharper than the zoom lenses, but today’s Panavision zooms and Zeiss ultra-speed zooms are also very sharp and crisp. The high-speed primes will have a wider iris opening such as a 1.4 to allow more light in and are preferable in low light situations. The cinematographer’s package may include a full set of primes from wide angle, to normal, to longer lenses as well as a zoom, which can be used for other aesthetic and practical applications.
There used to be a quality difference between the zoom and a prime in terms of visual clarity? Do you think there still is?
■ It might not be in terms of the actual sharpness and resolution of the image so much, but there is a quality difference in terms of the length of glass that is in front of you on the lens and how that affects the feel of the camera movement and everything else. It looks different to me anyway. I know John Seale would totally say the antithesis of what I just said (laughs), it’s just interesting that everyone has a different way of working. It’s not that one is right or wrong, but I just get totally fixated working with prime lenses.
(Roger Deakins, ASC, Frost interview, November 2007)
■ I love the change of focal length. I’ll do it in the middle of nearly every shot I operate on; you’ll see the corners of the frame moving. It’s called the imperceptibles you just slightly push in and adjust. You can see it with your brain, but you can’t see it with your eye, I just love it.
(John Seale, ASC, Frost interview)