billdillasc

Let me refine my answer a little: The circle of confusion is the smallest point of light in the focused part of an image. Shorter is always better. Bill Dill, ASC

The circle of confusion is the largest picture element we will consider as part of a focused image. It is one method of quantifying optical image sharpness, principally used at the time of original photography. If the image size, focal length, and focus distance stay the same, the depth field will be greater with a smaller circle of confusion. One important note: there is no such thing as a 16mm or 35mm depth of field chart. There is only a depth of field chart for a given circle of confusion. Hope that helps. Bill Dill, ASC

I'll try to check in here periodically. My schedule is pretty wild these days but this is a good thing. bd

Let me just add my 2 cents worth. I can tell you that I've never been influenced by the format on which an applicants work has been submitted. I couldn't care less. I wish it were that easy. We've not accepted applicants at AFI with tons of experience and lots of "beautiful" images on their reel. We've admitted applicants who have never been on a motion picture set before. The real questions are much harder, more subtle, to answer, "Does this person have something to say?" "Can this person learn to say it in the program we've created?" bd

Tenobell makes a very good point in one regard. No one, film school or anyone else, can promise to make you a professional cinematographer. However I do believe that you can get more ou of a strong cinematography program than just debt. I think you should demand three things from a cinematography program: 1.) Real answers to hard questions. You should be both challenged to ask them and you should receive the info you need in order to answer those questions yourself. You should not be spoon fed. 2.) You should have the time away from commercial concerns to explore your own aesthetic. "What do I consider beautiful?" In fact, what is "beauty" anyway. 3.) You should learn the primacy of story over all other distractions. How do I engage in a dialogue with a director to ferret out what we all came here to say? In that regard, you should be asking yourself: "Why are we making this movie?" "What have we come here, (at some considerable cost as well as some physical risk) to say?" "If this is all we came here for, why bother?" If by the time you leave that program you haven't gotten these things, Tenobell is right, you've wasted your money and ,worse yet, your time. Life is short. bd