After almost 6 months of careful research, discussions with manufacturers and users, and a handful of rentals, Cre8tiv Werks finally ‘pulled the trigger’ on a DOF rig! For those of you that are still wondering what I’m talking about, DOF stands for Depth of Field. It is simply a distance range in which the subject appears to be in focus while the foreground and background are in soft focus. When I shoot film there is a nice depth of field between the subject and the background based on the focal length of the lens and other factors. This film look really enhances the area the filmmaker wants the viewer to pay attention to.
Go to the site below for more information:
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dof/index.htm
From the Shoot35.com website: The SGblade is a 35mm Image Converter/Adapter, allowing you to use 35mm SLR lenses on your camcorder. Why? The main reason is the shallow Depth of Field (DOF) that a 35mm lens can produce. You can also take advantage of the wide range of focal lengths available for a variety of different Field of View (FOV).
Depth of Field (DOF) is simply the part of the image that is in focus. You can have a wide DOF, where the entire image is in focus. This is what most camcorders produce, and spells ‘video’ rather than ‘film’. A Shallow DOF is where only part of the image is in focus, any part of the image in the foreground or the background is a blur. Ever seen the classic ‘pull focus’ shots in film, where the camera changes focus from one face in the foreground to another in the background? This is classic use of DOF that is nearly impossible to create with a camcorder alone.
Field of View (FOV) is simply how much of the scene we see in the image. This is determined by the focal length of the lens used (24mm, 28mm, 50mm, 85mm etc.). The shorter the focal length of a lens, the wider the field of view and we see more of the scene from a given camera position. The longer the focal length of the lens, the more we magnify the image, which is more like a ‘telephoto’ lens, great for close ups.
At the end of the day, I wanted to raise the bar in the quality of production I can offer my clients. For more information or if you would like to discuss how these techniques will enhance your video production call me at 925 787-1707.