S is for Slate
Slates might also be referred to as clapboards, clapperboards, clacker, slapperboard, sticks, time slate, or soundmarker.
Read MoreSlates might also be referred to as clapboards, clapperboards, clacker, slapperboard, sticks, time slate, or soundmarker.
Read MoreA Rack Focus occurs when the Camera Operator, or a dedicated professional Focus Puller who is assigned only to dialing the focus on the lens, turns the dial of their focus, physically, which causes the lens to force the viewer’s eye to travel to a new image which becomes in focus. An example would be to show something in the background (deep) or the foreground of the shot (shallow), and then the focus shifts to the new thing.
The technique is use to bring attention to something behind, or in front, in the same frame. It can be used to show the audience something the character might not be aware of, or sometimes when a character realizes something is in front of, or behind them. The rack focus can be used in comedy and also in drama. Sometimes it’s subtle - like the sidewalk crowd shot of Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, or 2006’s The Host, specifically the hospital corridor scene. Other times it can be used in dialogue between two people without the need for an edit point.
The roll of the focus can also be called ‘selective focusing’ a ‘rack’ or a ‘pull focus’, depending on the Director of Photography or whom ever calls the shot.
The Video Tape that lives up to its roll model…
The optimum time for filming romantic or magical scenes due to 'warm' and 'soft' lighting conditions, characterized by a golden-orange hue color and softened shadows.
Magic hour occurs for about 30 minutes around the time of sunset and sunrise - which also is known as ‘golden hour’.
When on set you’ll typically hear the First Assistant Director yelling that ‘we’re losing daylight, people’ in his/her attempt
to motivate the crew to roll the next take. The First AD’s not joking around, as there is a limited amount of time to get the perfect glow of Magic Hour. It can get expensive.
Nestor Almendros' cinematography in Terence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978); and Phil Alden Robinson's Field of Dreams (1989) are fantastic examples of Golden Hour or Magic Hour on film.
Focus Puller or 1st AC
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