#The Delicate Art of the Focus Pull
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“#The Delicate Art of the Focus Pull”
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- Meg Shields
- July 23, 2020
Focus up, with this video essay on the storytelling potential of the rack focus shot.
If you’re watching a film and the focus shifts from one subject to another, punch the air because you’ve just witnessed a focus pull. A focus pull (a.k.a. rack focus) is a deliberate change of focus achieved during the filming of a shot.
In the old days, before digital technology, an assistant cinematographer would adjust the camera’s focus racks manually. It was their job to adjust the focal plane, without looking through the camera, to “pull” the focus from subject to subject. While the technique is now accomplished electronically, rack focus shots still require careful planning to effectively direct the audience’s gaze.
As with any filmmaking technique, some uses of rack focus are subtle while others are ostentatious. The video essay below highlights three cinematic examples that demonstrate the narrative power of the technique. The video also breaks down how rack focus works in more technical detail, why it saves filmmakers money, and how camera movement can make a rack focus feel seamless.
Watch “The Art of the Focus Pull“:
Who made this?
Philip Brubaker is a nonfiction filmmaker and video essayist based in Gainesville, Florida. He has made a heck of a lot of video essays for Fandor, Vague Visages, and MUBI, in addition to short documentaries. You can browse Brubaker’s video content on his Vimeo page.
More Videos Like This
- Another taste of Brubaker’s work, for Fandor, on when not to cut (part 1; part 2; part 3)
- And another from Brubaker, on Scorsese’s peerless use of the Steadicam
- Here’s a video from No Film School that lays out the practical uses of a rack focus with visual examples
- StudioBinder has a video about what a scene gains from rack focus, with a focus (haha) on the integral role of shot lists
- Did you know you can rack focus using your iPhone?
- If you’re looking for a more hands-on, practical breakdown on how to pull focus, Felicia Smith’s your gal
- Here’s a short documentary on focus puller Luigi Ventura that lays out in more detail what it is, exactly, that an assistant cinematographer does when they pull focus
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