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Endless tiny DOF??


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Watched the first episode of the Rings of Power series - it's alright. I like the design/costume/general aesthetics - but... When will this obsession with wide lens/shallow DOF die?

I find it so off-putting. Bright day exteriors where the back ground becomes nothing but blur and bokeh... two shots with only one character in focus... Close ups where only an eye is in focus... I feel like it's detracting from the storytelling - surely lighting and composition are enough without this massive 'blur radius'.

I'm also not convinced of the argument that it's a way of making digital capture feel less 'sharp and clinical'. For me a good chunk of depth of field is a thousand times more cinematic.

Just ranting and I know that it's a simple flavour of the month thing but it's distracting me from nearly every modern show/film I see (the DOF shrink between season 1 and 2 of Barry was insane and I had to stop watching).

If anyone has any insights into why this is happening and when it will go away I'd appreciate hearing them 

Edited by Leon Brehony
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3 hours ago, Leon Brehony said:

Watched the first episode of the Rings of Power series - it's alright. I like the design/costume/general aesthetics - but... When will this obsession with wide lens/shallow DOF die?

I find it so off-putting. Bright day exteriors where the back ground becomes nothing but blur and bokeh... two shots with only one character in focus... Close ups where only an eye is in focus... I feel like it's detracting from the storytelling - surely lighting and composition are enough without this massive 'blur radius'.

I'm also not convinced of the argument that it's a way of making digital capture feel less 'sharp and clinical'. For me a good chunk of depth of field is a thousand times more cinematic.

Just ranting and I know that it's a simple flavour of the month thing but it's distracting me from nearly every modern show/film I see (the DOF shrink between season 1 and 2 of Barry was insane and I had to stop watching).

If anyone has any insights into why this is happening and when it will go away I'd appreciate hearing them 

I read that in Mandalorian they shoot the suit wide open to soften the chrome helmet but shoot the rest a bit more stopped down. Not sure what the story is with Rings of Power but I think it's the same camera.

Edited by M Joel W
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5 hours ago, Leon Brehony said:

Watched the first episode of the Rings of Power series - it's alright. I like the design/costume/general aesthetics - but... When will this obsession with wide lens/shallow DOF die?

I find it so off-putting. Bright day exteriors where the back ground becomes nothing but blur and bokeh... two shots with only one character in focus... Close ups where only an eye is in focus... I feel like it's detracting from the storytelling - surely lighting and composition are enough without this massive 'blur radius'.

I'm also not convinced of the argument that it's a way of making digital capture feel less 'sharp and clinical'. For me a good chunk of depth of field is a thousand times more cinematic.

Just ranting and I know that it's a simple flavour of the month thing but it's distracting me from nearly every modern show/film I see (the DOF shrink between season 1 and 2 of Barry was insane and I had to stop watching).

If anyone has any insights into why this is happening and when it will go away I'd appreciate hearing them 

All valid, though I’ve yet to see a worse offender than Army of the Dead. The predilection of less than stellar DPs not only insisting on shooting on ultra fast glass but also insisting on shooting them wide open just for the sake of doing it I think plays into this as well. 

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19 hours ago, Kyryll Sobolev said:

this and the mumbly, super quiet, under-the-breath dialogue delivery... or is it the sound mixing doing that?

either way, i'd love to actually hear most of the dialogue, without high end headphones

It's a preennial digital sound problem. One wonders why sound mixers don't have an actual TV in the suite so they can actually hear what the audience will.

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