The range of distance in front of the camera that appears in sharp focus. A shallow depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in… means only part of the frame is sharp; a deep depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in… means the whole frame is sharp.
Depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in… is one of the most powerful creative tools in cinematography. A shallow depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in…, with a blurry background and sharp subject, creates a cinematic, focused look. Deep depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in… is used when you want the full scene visible and sharp.
Depth of field in the real world
Mark Romanek’s video for Nine Inch Nails’ Closer (1994) used extreme shallow depth of fieldThe range of distance in front of the camera that appears in… to isolate disturbing imagery in sharp focus while keeping the surrounding context soft and ambiguous. The technique made already unsettling images feel clinical and precise, which was exactly the tone the directorThe creative lead of the music video. They develop the conce… intended. It is a good example of how a technical camera decision becomes an expressive one.
Related terms
Close-upA shot tightly framed on a single detail, usually a face, a …, Director of Photography (DP)The head of the camera and lighting departments. The DP tran…, Frame rateThe number of individual frames captured per second. Standar…, Colour gradeThe creative process of applying a stylised look to the vide…