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Foreshortening


Prasad Kumar

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I know foreshortening is frequently used in drawings and photography to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space. Do DP/Director intentionally uses this technique in films? Or films have many other techniques (size difference, overlapping, focus, movement etc.) to create the illusion of three-dimensional space that they don't consider foreshortening?

Thanks.

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I don't think it's as much of a concern in motion pictures, because the subject is often moving and this helps delineate or define what the subject is. Perhaps if you gave some stills from film that might help answer your question. I think one of the roles of the DP is to clearly and concisely reveal whatever is being depicted on screen - unless the goal is to keep things hiddden and mysterious and keep the audience guessing as to just exactly what they're looking at - a quick example: when the mature 'alien' is finally shown, in 'Alien' (1979), though only as a close-up glimpse. But usually the director doesn't want to confuse the audience with the images. Hmm. Anyway, that's my brief take on the subject, for what it's worth. The term foreshorteneing got me thinking of the funny scene in the original 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' - when Gene Wilder leads the newly-arrived guests into a trick room that gets narrower and smaller as you walk into it. Well, I don't know if my musings help you in any way, but I enjoyed typing them.

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Shot's taken with a wide angle lens have been used to exaggerate the size of facial features. Eg., a kid looking at a teacher who is leaning over them whose eyes or nose is made unnaturally large with a wide angle lens, that makes them look scary to the kid. Might also be used to exagerate the fangs and mouth of a snarling dog.

Edited by Bob Speziale
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