Depth of Field.
Depth of field relates to how much of your image is in focus at certain distance from the camera. A shallow depth of field means only a small distance between your camera and what you're filming is in focus. This means the background and foreground will be out of focus and blurry. This is an effect that draws the viewer's eye to the subject.
Use of space:- If you want to achieve a nice soft background whilst filming an interview, its better if you find a room with plenty of space so you can get some depth of field to your shot. This also gives you room to zoom in and out.
Zoom:- Zooming in on some video cameras gives you a narrower depth of field. When you are using depth of field, using zoom, you want as much as you can get between your camera, the object and the background.
Constant attention:- When filming interviews with a shallow depth of field, your focus then becomes far more critical. When the interviewee leans forward, you can then lose focus so make sure you keep an eye on it and be a bit more attentive, checking and finding focus regularly.
The iris and ND filters:- ND or neutral density filters act like sunglasses for the camera. If you're outside and its bright enough for sunglasses, then the camera will need them too. Use neutral density filters if it is sunny, if you are in the snow or if you are on a sandy beach.
When you're filming outside and you want to get more of a blurred, out of focus background and you want to get that narrow depth of filed, you want to get in neutral density as much as possible. However, check your exposure is correct.
Learning to control depth of field gives you the opportunity to film creatively. The more you can use light and colour, the more it will help with the overall effect.
Use of space:- If you want to achieve a nice soft background whilst filming an interview, its better if you find a room with plenty of space so you can get some depth of field to your shot. This also gives you room to zoom in and out.
Zoom:- Zooming in on some video cameras gives you a narrower depth of field. When you are using depth of field, using zoom, you want as much as you can get between your camera, the object and the background.
Constant attention:- When filming interviews with a shallow depth of field, your focus then becomes far more critical. When the interviewee leans forward, you can then lose focus so make sure you keep an eye on it and be a bit more attentive, checking and finding focus regularly.
The iris and ND filters:- ND or neutral density filters act like sunglasses for the camera. If you're outside and its bright enough for sunglasses, then the camera will need them too. Use neutral density filters if it is sunny, if you are in the snow or if you are on a sandy beach.
When you're filming outside and you want to get more of a blurred, out of focus background and you want to get that narrow depth of filed, you want to get in neutral density as much as possible. However, check your exposure is correct.
Learning to control depth of field gives you the opportunity to film creatively. The more you can use light and colour, the more it will help with the overall effect.