Storyboard vs. Lenses: How to Choose the Right Lens for your Framing
As I have already discussed in the blog entry ‘How to Create a Reference Library as a Cinematographer’, Has and I have been discussing the visual style of the Sweeney Todd ad in depth, settling for a sepia-toned colour palette and consolidating the story board Has had devised according to my script. And while the storyboard was already pretty detailed and easy to understand in regard to framing, for this project, we want to take a step further.
Up until now, our course had not yet been working with prime lenses, but primarily with variable lenses. The reason for this was, first and foremost, an educational one. Since we first should get used to and be comfortable with using a camera in general, our access to cameras was limited to the use of news and broadcasting cameras, such as the Panasonic P2 and AVC within the first year.
However, since we have progressed onto LVL5, we are now in a much more confident position to deal with technical upgrades, and will thus need to learn how to properly and efficiently use prime lenses within our cinematic artwork. This is not only based on us using the Arri SR3 for filming, which requires a steep learning curve, but also opens up a variety of visual properties and possibilities that we hitherto did not have, expanding our storytelling possibilities tremendously.
The Lens Makes the Cinematographer
It is claimed, that the choice of lenses defines the filmmaker – and even more so the cinematographer – together with their cinematic style. The right choice of lenses might not only create intimacy and thus emotional impact, but also distance and thus objectivity to what is displayed within the frame. Here, it is not only the question of how you position your actor within the frame (which is dealt with in blocking and will be the content of a future blog entry), but also of how you portray them with the lens and lens type you are using.
Thus, depending on the setting, the framing and the lens you are using for any particular shot, you will create different emotions, direct attention, foster expectations and even ignite anticipations about what will be happening next.
However, already at the beginning of my research, I learned that the choice of framing and the choice of lenses are not necessarily that closely interlinked with each other than I initially thought, as you will see in a bit.
But let me start at the beginning. And since it is filmmaking we are talking about, this beginning will be rather technical in nature.
What Are Prime Lenses?
Compared to a variable lens or ‘zoom lens’ – that is often used for news cameras or TV/broadcasting cameras and allows for a range of focal lengths – prime lenses always only possess a single focal length. While that may sound cumbersome and expensive if you want to cover a range of focal lengths within your own lens kit, prime lenses are usually higher in quality than their variable counterparts in the same price range.
Parfocality
The cheaper variable lenses, also sometimes referred to as ‘varifocals’, do change their set focus once the focal length is changed and thus need readjusting their focus. However, the more expensive variable lenses – ‘parfocals’ – do maintain their focus throughout the entire range of their focal length and do not need readjusting, which naturally increases their price.
F-stops and T-stops
Prime lenses, much like variable lenses, also do cover a range of f-stops, which gives a numerical value to the openness (or closedness) of the aperture within the lens and thus of the amount of light that hits the sensor or film at the back of it. Different lenses will use different increments to measure f-stops; some only go in full f-stops, some only in half stops and others in third or even quarter stops, however, they all do offer a range of stops to choose from.
With older lenses, you will find that they not only come with f-stops, but also with t-stops. While f-stops measure the amount of light that hits the outermost glass of a lens, t-stops – or transmission stops – stand for the amount of light that is moving through the lens. With older lenses, their manufacturing processes, and their subsequent imperfections in the lens glass, the t-stop in earlier times was a means to measure the loss of light that would naturally occur. The t-stop is, as Filmmaker IQ would call it, ‘the f-stop corrected.’
Focal Length
While prime lenses with a focal length of less than 50/55mm are usually referred to as ‘wide (angle) lenses’ or ‘wider lenses’, lenses with a focal length of more than the aforementioned threshold numbers are referred to as ‘telephoto lenses’.
This focal length will change the composition and visual quality of a shot, as it affects the perspective of any given image. Thus, wide lenses will usually distort the distance or space within an image, while telephoto lenses will compress the distance, thereby also compressing the space within the image.
So What Can a Wide Lens Do?
Since a wide lens distorts (expands) the distances/space within an image, and makes them appear bigger or wider than they are to the natural eye, wide lenses are usually used for wide shots and establishing shots. These lenses create a wide field of view, which makes objects and buildings look like they are further away. Wide lenses usually possess a deep depth of field, giving a clear-cut image and showing everything within in full focus.
And When Do You Use a Wide Lens?
A wide lens is especially helpful in situations, where you need to capture an object or building in its entirety, but cannot physically get further away from it. Wide lenses will still require a certain minimal distance to its object if you don’t want the distortion effects of the lens to be too visible on the image. However, the distortion effect of the lens will still help you in covering more ground within the image.
As there are no set rules as to what you can do with a wide lens – and especially if you are out for a distortion effect within your image – you could, for example, also move closer in to any given subject or object whilst using a wide lens. Since the lens will still distort (read: expand) the distances of the space it covers, and thus also physical features of your characters, it will most likely have a comical effect, as you can see in this still image of Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly:
But wide lenses, when used in closer proximities to your object, can also render your objects rounder, bulkier, which is usually a good start if you want to film an advertisement and make a food item appear tastier, which we would theoretically want to be doing with the snack bar.
However, you would usually not want to cover a dialogue scene with a wide lens as it can distract the audience from the dialogue and create expectations as to what is about to enter the frame next.
Now, What Can a Telephoto Lens Do?
Telephoto lenses, due to their compression of space and distances within the image, will tie in all objects displayed in the image and make them appear being closer towards each other than they are in real life. If you are standing somewhat close to your subject or object, his ‘zoom’ effect can also make objects appear larger, and can even single them out, isolating them from their surroundings, as you can see in this example image from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho:
And When Do You Use a Telephoto Lens?
Due to their compressing properties, telephoto lenses are generally used for close ups and tight shots in which you only want to frame a single object. Since telephoto lenses have a narrow depth of field, and thus blur out a lot in the background or even in the foreground of an object, you can create a lot of intimacy and closeness to the subject as you direct the viewer’s attention on the face alone.
A telephoto lens will make objects appear thinner as they are in real life, which, again, is an interesting feature to remember with our snack bar and its oblong form.
However, as much as with the wide lens, you can also experiment with telephoto lenses to create certain effects. For example, if you are using a telephoto lens whilst standing far away from your subject/object, all objects covered will not only look tied together, but also flat and almost featureless.
What Is Depth of Field (DoF)?
As addressed above, wide lenses do generally have a deep depth of field and telephoto lenses a narrow depth of field. But what is depth of field exactly?
The DoF is the distance between the closest and the furthest object within an image that is still in focus, and is usally changed by the f-stop used. The smaller the number of the f-stop, the shallower the depth of field becomes within the image. The bigger the number, the deeper the depth of field gets. However, the DoF can also be affected by the focal length of the lens.
Perspective ≠ Framing
As you might have guessed already, in regard to the framing of your shots and the realisation of a storyboard, there is not one correct lens for any particular shot size. But I will get to that now.
As this video vividly displays, lenses do not affect the framing of an image, but rather the perspective of it. While their inherent properties – distortion with wide lenses and compression with telephoto lenses – do somewhat make them an easy go-to choice for wide shots and close ups, it is the cinematographer’s visual and artistic decision as to how they combine framing and lenses and how they utilise the lenses’ properties.
Lens Properties
Apart from the properties that I explained in my blog entry so far, and much like this video explains, each lens will have further properties that come with their own set of aesthetics. A couple of them, in no particular order, but summarised for a quick read, are:
Flaring (different lenses will create different flares)
Vignettes (distortions at the edges of the image, predominantly with vintage lenses)
Bokeh (the effect of background lights outside the depth of field)
Sharpness (older lenses will be softer, newer lenses will be sharper)
Parfocality (variables keep their focus when passing through the focal length range)
Aperture and aperture blades (affecting the shape of the bokeh)
Loss of light (the relation between the f-stop and the t-stop)
Weight (the lens might make the camera front-heavy)
Minimal focus distance required from object (rather self-explanatory)
Furthermore, each lens will display contrasts and colours slightly differently to any other one, so lens comparisons and lens tests would be required to find the right one for the right project. Another factor to look out for will be the age and ‘type’ of lens. Older lenses, due to reasons of manufacturing, won’t be as pristine as modern lenses and will carry imperfections, that will, in turn, create a vintage style within your imagery. However, if you were out for a modern, slick look on your footage, you would naturally avoid vintage lenses and go for newer ones.
Up until this point, I have mainly been talking about spherical lenses. But there are furthermore also anamorphic lenses. Whilst a lot of the elements and properties mentioned for spherical lenses will also be applicable to anamorphic lenses, anamorphic lenses come with a new property on their own. But since I won’t be able to use an anamorphic lens or an anamorphic adapter for this project, I will cover that topic in another blog entry in the future.
My Application of Lenses Hitherto
With this newfound knowledge, I sat down together with Has, Nathan, and Lynley and experimented with the different lenses that were contained in the Blackmagic Mini Ursa Pro lens kit to not only stay with the theoretical knowledge, but also to get to apply it practically. The following video, edited and uploaded by Lynley, gives you a rough feeling of our experiments (and especially of my very concentrated, 'happy' face):
I furthermore set down an looked at Has’ storyboard again to decide on the focal length, and thus lens, we would use for each shot. Since we both decided that we did not want to use any comical effects or distort the faces of the characters, but wanted to use a shallow depth of field and experiment with focus pulls, I decided that I would start with the usual setting of using wide lenses for wide shots and normal lenses or telephoto lenses for close-ups and the product shot, and experiment with the lenses later on, once we have a location confirmed and the mock prop in hand to compare the effects visually.
Thus, I jotted down the focal length that I wanted to use for each shot of the storyboard to get a feeling of what the imagery might be like and added a copy of this here. However, please note that the storyboard is Has’ and not mine, and that the lens choices reflected the focal lengths currently available in the SR3 lens kit:
Lastly, but not least, it is important to state that the choice of lenses is usually a quite personal one that is not only depended on the requirements of the film and its underlying story, but also dependent on the personal taste and styles of both the cinematographer and the director.
While I started mapping out a standard go-to setting to make sure that the basic shots are covered without any unwanted effects, I will naturally experiment and deviate, once I have more to work with.
References:
Antos, T. (2010) Lenses, Composition, and Camera Angles – Film/Photo Tutorial [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhbZRc2tntg&t=22s&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
CinematicJ (2017) How to Choose the Right Lens for Filmmaking [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNi3D2O4ziU&index=127&list=WL [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
CookeOpticsTV (2016) Masterclass || John Mathieson - Choosing Lenses (Part 1) [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxH4Yzszk1I [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
CookeOpticsTV (2016) Masterclass || John Mathieson - Choosing Lenses (Part 2) [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWAp4Fv9RvE [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
Dimalanta, J. (2016) Part 1: Optical Process – Spherical vs. Anamorphic [online] https://acinematographersjournal.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/part-1-optical-process-spherical-vs-anamorphic/ [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
DSLR Guide (2015) Lenses – Storytelling with Cinematography [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlnwLGtgb1o&index=127&list=WL&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
FilmmakerIQ.com (2016) The Properties of Camera Lenses [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGGUXAMliqM [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
Hitchcock, A. (1960) Psycho [DVD] USA: Shamley Productions Image taken from: https://www.videoeditingsage.com/extreme-close-up-camera-shot.html [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
Indie Film Hustle (2017) How to Choose the Right Lens for Your Shot - Indie Film Hustle [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfzVc-Lcbjk&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
LensProToGo (201) How to choose the RIGHT cinema lens [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr7ctDzk1ag&index=127&list=WL&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
Leone, S. (1966) The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly [DVD] Italy, Spain, and Germany: Produzioni Europee Associate et.al. Image taken from: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/cinematography-manual-the-ultimate-guide-to-becoming-a-director-of-photography/ [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
NakedFilmmaker (2011) Choosing the Best Camera Lens for your Film [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY1-MyDRiIg&list=WL&t=0s&index=127&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 1 November 2018]
The South African Pirate (2018) Lens Test [online]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fajl6aVOR8&frags=pl%2Cwn [Accessed on 10 December 2018]