The Art of the Focus Pull

[@andyoncam1]

When I was a film focus-puller / camera assistant, on dramas, music videos, documentaries, commercials and more, I didnt find racking the focus particularly taxing. It was estimating 'splits', getting as much in focus as possible at a certain F stop and focal length rather than the isolating of a single face in a line of people. I'd spend probably too long with my 'Kelly' depth calculator and a tape measure working out my focus decisions. If in doubt I ensured the most expensive person in the shot was sharp! I might add that in the 25 years I was sharping I dont think I had a video assist monitor to help me more than a couple of times. It was all judging distances by eye, having previously put down marks or by estimating from experience.

[@ArmTheCreative]

1:28 SAY WHAAAAT!!! GOLDEN MOVE!

[@Alexander-tj2dn]

That scene in The Graduate is awesome. You can feel how she is slowly realizing the real truth.

[@legomoviesstudios8822]

I favorite Focus rack in film is probably the one at the of Schindler's list. When it goes back and forth between Oskar in the car and the reflection of the people he saved. It's such a moving shot and always gets me when I watch the movie.

[@LNKcine]

"Once upon a time a 1st AC had to manually adjust the lens while the camera was still rolling" 1st AC here.. We still do it manually. Pretty well no one uses any sort of auto focus. It's all manual during the shot still.

[@bendadams]

Jackson Harper I believe his intention was to say that "they didn't have a wireless follow focus' or a monitor for the 1st ac. It was done manually using measurements and eyeballing it with film along with other techniques I'm sure I've never heard of with film. I would love to hear any 1st ac tips and tricks you have to share.

[@ReadySetGoPictures]

As a fellow first - We do have some crutches we can rely on. But lets say your on a low budget - youre no longer wireless you're either pulling of the barrel or on a normal follow focus. I was taught as a 1st to not rely on your monitor, focus on my measurements you have. If an actor misses a mark, you're using you mental measurements and eyeballs more than you would think. Go look at big films BTS - most 1sts aren't looking at a monitor. I was recently watching the BTS for lone survivor. The 1st, was running down a mountain with a wireless unit, no monitor, following the Op and four guys rolling down a mountain. That's "old school" for you. Most of the time, I feel like im eyeballing it and using mental measurements, not my monitor or cine tape haha.

[@LNKcine]

Have you been around for a while? That "not relying on your monitor" is a meme I remember from my early days as a film school student and new focus puller around 2009. That made sense in the film days and early digital days when monitoring quality was terrible, but at the wide open stops many DPs are shooting at these days, measurements and marks can only do so much. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but working as a focus puller for some pretty decent sized TV series for the last few years and meeting a lot of fellow focus pullers, everyone I know sits in front of a monitor with a wireless focus handset, hardly looking down at their rings or marks all day.

[@ReadySetGoPictures]

No, I grew up in the digital world, through film school, etc. My first mentor had been working for around 30 years now as an AC and started on film (hence the no monitors). He taught from the "no monitor" to start, then to use the monitor to only better your skillsets, not use it as a "crutch". Using a monitor religiously is great, not completely my style. I have the good ol' triangle of monitor, actors, and follow focus. So with my training, I first go off of measurements - assuming everything is right, my monitor is verification. Again, always an exception - if you're shooting a T1.8 on a 150mm at 20feet with an actor sprinting towards the lens, of course use a monitor more than measurements - what you see on the monitor is what you get. Each type (off eyeballing it and off monitor completely) are two tools to get the job done - i think you have to have both. Again, thats working on couple of features - I don't have decades of experience. At the end of the day, I'm of the mindset to using whatever technique gets the shot sharp! Also, I've worked with DPs that are wide open the entire time. Of course then its 90-100% monitor. I still get measurements as best as I can though.

[@marceloverwijnedits]

Hi! Would you mind sharing the BTC video of the 1st ac running down a mountain? I cannot seem to find it, thanks!

[@videotechxplained]

This video magnifies the beauty of of the effect of focus racking. I love this video

[@patrickclamrod9454]

Great video, love the content this channel has.

[@BrianMarcWhittaker]

The split diopter looks very useful. I’ve never seen one.

[@thatcherfreeman]

I was surprised to hear it described as something used by "master filmmakers" because IMO every split diopter shot looks like shit. Those shots always strike me as jarringly ugly in films that are otherwise quite beautiful.

[@matiashojas41]

Why wouldnt you use a larger fstop if you wanted everythinh in focus

[@nicolasmarinrestrepo5969]

​@@matiashojas41 Not enough light (you don't want to blast your actors with bright lights, it distracts them and the heat of it creates uncomfortable working conditions) and diffraction. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction-limited_system

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

Look at brian de palma films

[@mrflipperinvader7922]

@@thatcherfreeman it's so you think that because the illusion it creates is very cool Depending on the filmmakers some will try to hide that blur line with the background and some will just leave it out in the open

[@TheAirRunner1]

i definitely read this title as force pull and thought it was about star wars but im still glad i watched

[@anzaeria]

1:36 "When going from one disparate focal length to another, the image seems to sigh." You would only change focal lengths on a zoom lens (at different zoom settings.)

[@sudevsen]

a sudden plethora of cool videos by you guys. love them

[@VespertiliKildem]

SPLIT DIOPTER?! Holy fuck I had no idea such a thing existed. This video deserves my like just for that information.

[@simonfil2]

I studied to be an 1st AC and one of the questions on the interview was how can you be creative as an 1st AC? This video gives many good answers as to how ;)

[@joshboy64]

There's an example in Firefly that I actually really loved with a focus pull. It's during a sex scene with Inara, and as her and her client are climaxing, the focus suddenly goes blurry for a second or two, and then it focuses back to them. There's something kinda simple and elegant in that, I feel, as it gives it a similar effect as Milk's death scene, or The Graduate's revelation.

[@shadowfoam3491]

I love Whedon's use of them in general. A shot from either Firefly or Serenity involves a scene where Jane has said the wrong thing to Mal at the dinner table. Zoe begins out of focus, then says to Jane "you want to leave this table" right when her face sharpens after about two-second pull. Such a simple and confident way to communicate so many things.

[@kylepozorski]

i do this all the time while shooting different events on my college campus. it gives so much depth to the videos.

[@SoundBlackRecordings]

Wow it's amazing the things you see every day in film but don't notice because you haven't been to film school. I've learned so much about film on KZbin. Now I find myself noticing good shots and bad ones where I never noticed those things before. LOL

[@birajsingha9879]

I frickin love these shots (second maybe the dolly zoom)

[@OwenL2020]

Terrific work. You grabbed great examples.

[@mohamedbenkartaba1246]

there is this shot in "Us" which seams to use that "split diopter" technique, however I'm not sure this effect wasn't made in post since we see Lupita in the background and her double in foreground.

[@ArthurMoore]

thanks for the Milk spoiler, lol

[@helmet212]

Hahaha Arthur Moore! Glad to see you here!

[@jonathanbandiera196]

i cant tell if this is a joke or not its literally a biopic about harvey milk who was assassinated in real life

[@zannythatguy]

@@jonathanbandiera196 well nah I didn't know his backstory either- a lot of people learn from biopics. but still i know what you mean

[@Linteria]

@@jonathanbandiera196 I think that’s precisely the joke that was intended. His death isn’t a spoiler.

[@reallybeenfar7439]

@@Linteria The joke is "spoiled milk"... like the white stuff from cows

[@HackMyControlSystem]

I loved the comments on efficiency to avoid re-setting cameras.

[@downsyndromearmy55]

excellent video essay; very informative. Thanks

[@suryakantpatre4812]

I just love your channel. It teaches a lot.

[@certainlyjoel]

1:01 good to see the Heilos lens here 😍😍😍

[@maobbo]

今回はフジタさんが撮影？ プルフォーカスのおかげで質感がグッと高まってて良いね！ ランドーはもっと見たいから、頑張って生き残ってくれ……！

[@MrAnubhabd]

Very nice video. Perfectly explained, thanks.

[@Daniel-Rosa.]

This was very, very good.

[@DemCrumblies]

Thank you for explaining that so easily.

[@leiparmedia1641]

Great information and examples. Thanks for sharing.

[@priyanshjig]

unsung heroes

[@PatrickWDunne]

I clicked for the Under the Skin thumbnail, but it wasn't even in this video. I'm glad you guys mentioned The Graduate though.

[@parencreates865]

loved it, thanks for the clear explanation with great examples mate!

[@eztvfilms3667]

Thanks for the video.

[@alex0589]

Anamorphic pull is NOT focus breathing, it's the anamorphic squeeze rendering the out-of-focus elements oval. This ain't a bad video but some things are formulated weirdly or just plain false. good effort though, cheers

[@mikemcglasson1286]

I get the idea these videos are made by someone who watches a lot of movies, and maybe reads about making them, but doesn't have any real experience making movies

[@marianoguy]

Isn't breathing by definition when there's a slight change in the focal distance? i.e. a little "zoom". there's a little bit of that in the hateful eight example

[@Tokiofritz]

May I ask the professionals - when filming a scene involving a lot of bodily movement, what are your most used settings in terms of shutter speed and f-stops, and which lens would you use?

[@loudmotion5639]

on s35, the f-stops depends a lot on the optics too. sometime shooting on a50mm, you would want an f4-5.6 if you have to follow a subject etc indoor, a lot of movies outdoor are shot on f8 too lol these f1.4/f1.8 are mostly reserved for photography mostly or low light shots. A 35mm F2.8 is a sweet spot for some narrative film making then again it all depends on the scene and style that the movie is aiming at. its like each tool got it own use for sure.

[@Tokiofritz]

@@loudmotion5639 Great advice. Thanks!

[@niamscookery3442]

Wow ! It's so important .

[@wsound9548]

Very good info... Thanks

[@qinematiqGmbHWien]

great collection of great works. as we produce a new art of focus assistent tool, I am looking forward for some more videos like this.

[@prashantmatka6807]

This was very very good videos..

[@cyclophezurdo3883]

Thanks a lot for your cimema lesson.

[@lietuviskihitai5870]

thanks man

[@eddieduque9371]

In wedding videos this magnificent trick looks totally breathtaking..❤️👍Keep Shooting ✌️

[@origonalname119]

Did anyone else immediately recall the one from the beginning of Force Awakens where the focus bounced back and forth from Poe to Lor San Tekka like five times in the same shot?

[@stuckdragon]

Excellent vid !!!

[@fjrr2017]

what lens is at 1:03? it is look helios but helios move forward the mechanism when you move the focus ring i think so it creates some zoom effect. and what is the difference between rack focus and pull focus at the end? pull focus is unnoticed and rack focus it is?

[@ev4rcroft]

1:47 What film is this?

[@JamEngulfer]

Kinda odd to put watermarks on a video entirely comprised of clips from other people's art

[@tarkantruman430]

1:47 Which movie is this?

[@AndreasGav]

Amazing video! thank you!

[@HumanityDone]

Im trying to rack focus on my kit lens for a6300

[@Bulacanos]

His phallic arm? Yes you are being too Freudian lmao

[@usersangsa]

amazing video

[@Shortary]

I need that into song in my life. Whats the name please?!

[@kissmyasthma3155]

You were reading too much into it when you analysed the rack focus shot in After Hours. Honestly if you look hard enough you could make out phallic symbols in any movie, and most of the time the filmmaker was unaware of it.

[@kadedrury300]

My thoughts exactly. Nor is After Hours about "a guy who really wants to get laid" - it's about a guy who really wants to get home.

[@kadedrury300]

Only criticism of a great video though.

[@sada0101]

Roland Barthes wants to have a chat about that.

[@dawsonboyle99]

Exactly there's a huge difference between interpreting a film and actually creating something

[@starkingbiker]

Its Scorsese. everything has a meaning

[@frederic_viennot]

AMAZING !!!!!!

[@Coolhand99au]

Very Goooood Thanks

[@IndieAuthorX]

Film Riot repping the $30 Helios! I love that lens so much!

[@rameshpatel2816]

Nathaniel Matychuk k

[@ANNAKKi]

Elegant. Subbed.

[@beefboy22]

This video is 'quite nice.'

[@sourcherry23]

This is incredibly well put, learned a lot from this!

[@BudhaHam]

the difference between movies and other art forms is movement (kinesis)

[@LordArioh]

on a serious set it's not a magic miracle, every point of focus and focusing speed and distance is planned and practiced in advance.

[@awsmnessdesignstudio5252]

Now we are doing tap to focus :)

[@bats3649]

2:54 Thanks for the spoiler warning guys

[@M_Ray1106]

Still don't understand the difference between rack focus and pull focus

[@GregHuffman1987]

Watching so many rack focus shots back to back makes my eyes hurt.

[@declanmurphy1006]

Makes me feel a bit better about shitty video AF on Nikon. Guess I'll just have to learn to use my follow focus effectively.

[@조승우-o6l]

1:28 👍

[@ISRAADVISUALS]

I have seen insane focus pull be4

[@DimoBoychev]

earned a sub

[@totallycheckthisout]

thanks pal awesome ~ Richie Zarmajian

[@DanRichter]

Now you just click buttons on screens to "pull focus" to whatever you want

[@akshayde]

so .. focus pulls are quite nice. well, i could have told you that

[@CloneDVDair]

Nice,nice,nice!!!!!!!!

[@janetsnakehole4836]

imma bookmark 3:08

[@pranjalsupratim612]

You were being a little Freudian for sure During After Hours Clip ! I personally don’t see any phallic symbolism when the guy was signaling for the cab. No offense though!

[@EllipsisTriangletrap]

Yeah that seemed a bit forced. Like this guy read a film review and that was mentioned and so he takes it as gospel. Even if that was the filmmaker's intent, it didn't come across properly. Subtlety is great but excessively subtle and your message goes unnoticed.

[@ViveUltimate]

lmao thanks for spoiling Milk

[@كريمالقريو]

you didn't say spoiler alert

[@sriharsha5036]

The graduate focus pull...

[@nefflz]

informative video, but I think you were being too Freudian re 'After Hours' . Amazing focus pull reference from 'The Graduate'

[@danmendez3038]

Deberían poner subtítulos en español 😪

[@MeAlexSenna]

Focus breathing in a pensé is a big issue, it distracts the audience more than what Lens Makers care to admit. Cook’s optics are pretty bad there for example. Arri and Zeiss do pretty good in not having focus breathing

[@tonybishansyo9257]

Brooo spoilers

[@michaelhull1813]

Freudian indeed.

[@Profile.4]

How the fuck is a hand phallic wtf haha

[@sinjon]

I don’t see how the guy hailing the cab in After Hours was rack focusing since his hand was never out of focus.

[@timespace.productions7513]

At the very beginning of the shot, the taxi is in focus.

[@timespace.productions7513]

Then it goes out of focus.

[@zacharyclarke4991]

spoilers my guy

[@consume86]

2:43 you are trying too hard. so cringy

[@consume86]

dont force ur opinions as if they r absolute. u a bigshot film critic or sonething?

[@helmet212]

Due to progressive commercial needs, new filmmakers (Y'all YT people) are really not paying much attention to the craft of filmmaking. Virtuosity is loosing to velocity.

[@tsartomato]

and that's why movies aren't art

[@TheTopherHouse]

I was enjoying this video until you spoiled the graduate for me. Dick move blowing over it so quickly without proper warning of spoilers