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How does depth of field play into visual storytelling?

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I think it’s important to talk about how depth of field plays into visual storytelling. In my personal opinion, shallow depth of field places emphasis on an individual element of the shot, rather than placing emphasis on the background, as does large depth of field.

To show this example, I want to reference San Quentin’s Giants, a New York Times Op-Doc that explores the baseball team for inmates at San Quentin State Prison.
In this piece, the emphasis is mostly on the inmates, and their reasons for why they participate on the team.

In the first thirty seconds of this piece, our eyes are taken on a journey through a pitcher throwing a pitch to the catcher, as a man, yet to be identified, speaks about what it feels like to play baseball. The director of this piece chose to shoot this entire sequence with shall depth of field, blurring out the background. What does this do for the scene? It focuses our eyes on the individual himself, rather than the background. The anecdotal lead being spoken is personal; his feeling toward the sport. We’re able to see the intensity of his facial expression clearly.

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 1.43.54 PM

The opening shot, with a shallow depth of field, places emphasis on the pitcher.

 

In this same sequence, the director wants to you know we’re in a prison. Even though the background is not in focus, it’s clear this is set in a prison because of the barbed wire you see overhead in several of the shots in this sequence.

Later in the piece, following this sequence, the director decided to introduce several inmates by having them identify the crimes they committed. Having interviewed people who have committed unspeakable crimes, I understand how personal this is to the inmates. By only seeing them in focus, but still being able to see that we’re on the inside of a prison, it places emphasis on the individual, to allow us to one-on-one learn about their past.

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 1.48.07 PM

The first sequence of large depth of field, clearly placing emphasis on the institution, rather than the individuals.

Now, I’ve spent quite a bit of time focusing on shallow depth of field, but haven’t spoken to the effect of large depth of field. For the first minute and twenty seconds, the director hasn’t clearly identified where we are at. For those that have seen the inside of a prison, we clearly recognize the symbols blurred in the background. But, nothing has been clearly identified.

At 1:20 in the piece, we see a wide-angle pan shot over the prison, from what appears to be a high point just outside the prison. From this moment, until 1:58, the director chose to use large depth of field that places emphasis on the prison. Since the story is about the individual players, having shallow depth of field is important up front, and establishes the narrative arc.

But, the institution itself plays a key role in the aesthetics of the piece. For the first 30 seconds, the unanswered question is, “Where are we?” And,” Why am I watching this piece?” By waiting to reveal the location, the director is hooking you in, making you wonder why these individuals are important. The institution is important, but not the story. The story lies in what happens within the institution.

Depth of field is a tool filmmakers and visual journalists have at their disposal, and when used properly in a video, aids as a storytelling technique to tell viewers where they should look within a frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

65 Comments

on “How does depth of field play into visual storytelling?”
65 Comments on “How does depth of field play into visual storytelling?”

  1. I love this piece, because I love sports. Great find. I enjoyed noticing the different lenses the filmmaker used during this. There is a pan he has of the San Quentin walls that starts around the 1:35 mark. The shot looks great, but there is a noticeable disparity with the shot of the field. Wide angle lens was used and it does not take away from the shot at all. If anything, it gives the field a different mood from the pan.

  2. Beyond depth of field, it also worth discussion that this short doc has a highly controlled, cinematic feel. Consider color toning, camera movement (Steadicam throughout – used like a jib at 1:29), the wide aspect ratio, slow motion (opener and at 7:06), sun flare as a reoccurring motif, highly choreographed blocking in several scenes.

    What do you think is reasoning behind these decisions? Nostalgia for the game of baseball? A sense of heroism used in an ironic way? An effort to capture the sense of transformation felt by the prisoners when they walk onto the field?

    While these heavy handed approaches seem appropriate in Op-Docs, would they fit in to other journalistic pieces?

  3. Thanks for your comment, Wes. I do think it’s worth discussing that there’s a controlled, cinematic effect to this piece. Every shot is executed with purpose.

    The steadicam in this piece allows the videographer to show the story through the protagonists point of view. Since their story is so intimate, this shooting style allows us to see motion in the frame, as if we’re looking at the field through the point of view if the inmates.

    You pose a very interesting question about the nostalgic approach to this piece. I agree with you that it’s because there’s a nostalgic feeling that encompasses baseball, and I want to add that the inmates also reflect about their wrongdoings and how they got incarcerated to begin with. I believe the nostalgic shooting style is a cinematic way to represent both the game itself, and the past mistakes of the inmates.

    Where can approaches to this apply in journalistic work? I think the answer is that there are appropriate places to use these shooting techniques, as long as the videographer doesn’t try to deceive the viewer. as long as the content remains truthful, I think there are many opportunities to incorporate this kind of work into journalistic pieces.

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