Cinematography

The depth-of-field of each shot also requires careful consideration, as it helps direct the viewer’s attention and is one way to guide where their eyes land in any particular shot. Very important in certain scenes. Depth-of-field refers to the front-to-back range of each frame’s focus. In other words, what parts are in focus and what parts are blurred. In some shots, the whole frame is sharp. In other shots, the background and/or foreground is blurry and only the subject is sharp....

On the whole, cinematography is an art form. It describes all the elements that go into how a director captures an image, similar to how painters and photographers do. But cinematography has an extra dimension: how those images move on screen. Mastering all these aspects of composition and movement can elevate a movie to new heights, and can even turn a mediocre film into a good film, or a good film into a great film....

In layman’s terms, the contra zoom is when the camera lens zooms in on the subject while the camera itself is pulled backwards. The resulting effect is pretty dizzying, making it look like the subject stays in place while the background morphs around them. The contra zoom is most frequently used to emphasize key moments of realization, to depict mental confusion, or to signal an evil presence. Here are several examples of movies that have iconic sequences that incorporate the contra zoom technique....