Deep focus cinematography

The term deep focus cinematography describes the use of the greatest possible depth of field in the film with the help of camera technology, such as the use of wide-angle lenses and the smallest possible aperture . The Deep focus cinematography is closely related to the Deep Space mise-en-scene , but need not be synonymous with her. A paradigmatic example is the film Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, USA 1941).

The use of depth of field as a cinematographic process, however, was not just an invention of the 1940s. The deep-focus cinematography , as well as its close relative, the Deep-space-mise-en-scene , were already known in the early days of cinema as a stylistic device. During the 1920s and 1930s, however, at least in classic Hollywood, a style prevailed that often renounced depth. In this 'soft style' ( soft style ) sharp contrasts were rejected as inartistic, a slight blurring of all image planes was rather the goal. Looking at the technological innovations of this time, it becomes obvious how much the filmmaker's stylistic preferences and technological innovations influence one another.

light

Carbon arc lamps and orthochromatic film were standard for filmmakers until well into the 1920s . Incandescent lamps, such as the Mazda lamp manufactured by General Electrics , could not establish themselves for a long time because their light temperature was in the red range, which the orthochromatic film could not expose. Finally, at the beginning of 1928, isolated innovations were combined in a larger research and development program. The Academy , founded a year earlier, organized a test program with ASC and affected companies such as General Electrics, Mole-Richardson or Eastman, in which the advantages and handling of Mazda lamps and panchromatic film were determined. Incandescent lamps had the great advantage that they were much cheaper due to their lower power consumption and also easier to handle and transport. In addition, the charcoal arc lamps had the side effect that they gave off a constant, high-pitched whistle, which was a clear disadvantage during the introduction of the sound film. The incandescent lamps achieved widespread use in studios within a short period of time. A far-reaching consequence of Mazda lamps, however, was that they brought a certain degree of blurring and poor contrast with them. While this fit in with the soft style popular at the time, it repeatedly led to attempts by individual filmmakers to return to charcoal arc lamps. With the development of the Technicolor three-color system, which worked only with difficulty with incandescent lamps, the carbon arc lamps were further developed and were able to claim a certain market segment for themselves again at the end of the 1930s.

Footage

Panchromatic film gradually gained acceptance as early as the 1920s . Since it also responded to red light, skin tones could be represented much better. The first panchromatic film materials were still very insensitive to light ('slow'): the aperture had to be opened wide and the light amplified. The result was low-contrast, bright lighting and a shallow depth of field, which gave the image a soft expression. During the 1930s, the footage was further developed. Most cameramen, however, used a wide-open aperture and bright lighting, as only these gave the 'soft style' desired at the time. Few filmmakers preferred to use higher contrasts, sharp outlines and a certain depth of field.

The introduction of the sound

If the two developments of lighting and film material are initially to be regarded as independent, it cannot be denied that they coincided with the exact time that Hollywood was switching to sound. The introduction of sound resulted in additional factors that influenced lighting and film material: The synchronization of the sound with the image made it necessary to increase the film speed to 24fps. This resulted in a lower maximum exposure time, which in turn made it necessary to illuminate the set more intensively. Furthermore, the loud arc lamps had to be soundproofed or replaced by the quieter Mazda lamps. Cameras also had to be soundproofed accordingly. However, these camera bodies meant that the camera would film through a glass plate, which further reduced the sharpness of the image and the light intensity. Due to the lower exposure time, cameramen were even more tempted to open the aperture wide and thus reduce the depth of field.

Depth of field or soft style?

The technical means mentioned here were primarily aimed at a market that wanted to achieve a shallow depth of field. Still, there were several filmmakers who were already experimenting with greater depth of field. The culmination of this alternative development is the work of cinematographer Gregg Toland and director Orson Welles on Citizen Kane (1941). The combination of various technical developments of the 1930s - wide-angle lenses, light-sensitive, panchromatic films, advanced arc lamps, specially coated lens systems to better capture light and the new, low-noise Mitchell camera - made it possible to deal more freely with depth of field.

The development thus shows a reciprocal influence of production and technical innovation. Technical developments only made certain working methods possible and therefore preferred individual stylistic devices. On the other hand, production made specific demands on the developers, called for certain innovations and thus steered the direction of research. However, there was also room for alternative developments within this relationship system.

Deep Space Cinematography and Realism

André Bazin celebrates the technique of deep space cinematography, above all the film Citizen Kane , as a prime example of his definition of realism. For him, the rules of montage are only patronizing the viewer, while he / she can choose the target of his / her attention with a pronounced depth of field. David Bordwell vehemently contradicts this approach and shows that the quasi-realistic representation of the depth of field already contains clear artistic alienation effects.

A special recording technique, the so-called “forced perspective”, only works with deep focus cinematography, but it is not an example of realism. The for Walt Disney - Fantasy film Darby O'Gill and the Little People ( Darby O'Gill and the Little People , 1959) developed method makes use of the fact that the human eye can not detect due to the two-dimensionality of the film image of how far things or People are really far apart as long as the camera or the objects being filmed do not move towards each other. In order to create the impression that a normal-sized person interacts with a figure in the brownie format, the larger figure with part of the equipment was draped in the foreground of the scenery, while the smaller figure was supposed to appear four times away with a picture-perfect "fitting “, Four times enlarged equipment in the background. Marker points helped the actors play together while maintaining the correct line of sight despite the distance. For these scenes, Ub Iwerks, together with the engineer Bob Otto, constructed a camera with a nodal-point perspective camera. This special camera created a seamlessly combined overall picture from the two different sets. The complicated recordings require a very large film set , which requires a correspondingly large amount of light in order to achieve a deeply sharp film image.

literature

• Blandford, Steve, Grant, Barry Keith & Hillier, Jim (2001): The Film Studies Dictionary . Arnold: London
• Bordwell, David (1985): The Mazda tests of 1928 . In: Bordwell, David, Staiger, Janet & Thompson, Kristin: The Classical Hollywood Cinema. Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960 . Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 294-297
• Bordwell, David (1985): Deep focus cinematography . In: Bordwell, David, Staiger, Janet & Thompson, Kristin: The Classical Hollywood Cinema. Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960 . Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 341-352

Individual evidence

1. ^ Leslie Iwerks, John Kenworthy: The Hand Behind the Mouse. An Intimate Biography of Ub Iwerks, the Man Walt Disney Called "The Greatest Animator in the World" . Disney Editions, New York 2001, ISBN 0-7868-5320-4 , p. 197.