Close Shots

Close shots can show details of large objects, or provide magnified views of smaller ones. But they bring their headaches, and it is as well for the director to appreciate their limitations.

Cameraman’s problems

As the camera gets closer, the available depth of field diminishes. So it may not be possible to hold the subject in sharp focus overall. Instead, you can only focus on the most important plane, leaving the rest unsharp. (You can overcome this problem by taking a longer shot, or stopping the lens down, but each remedy has its drawbacks.) To focus as sharply as possible on small items, they should be held quite still, preferably resting on a firm surface at a prearranged mark.

Cameras cannot focus on subjects closer than their minimum focusing distance indicates. This varies with lens design, from a few millimeters to several meters away. Even where close focusing is possible, the depth of field may be embarrassingly shallow. Lighting can be difficult too – in getting enough light, at the right angle, without casting camera shadows onto the subject. So you often have to work further away, using a narrower lens angle.

The closer the shot, the greater the problems the cameraman has in accommodating or following action. To and fro movement requires very precise focus-following, and lateral action easily passes outside the framed area and is lost. The results can be quite frustrating! Equally annoying is the inability to discern detail, or to read information due to unsharp pictures. Although many lens systems have a macro position allowing sharp focusing right up to the lens surface, the basic problems still remain, and the zoom facility is inoperative.

Production problems

Although close shots reveal detail, this should be relevant, appropriate and interesting. Detail may look crude, or reveal blemishes. The audience should want to see this close view (or be persuaded to want it), not feel prevented from seeing other aspects that seem more interesting to them.

Close shots preclude the audience from seeing the overall view. If you use them to excess, therefore, you can prevent people from getting a clear idea of spatial relationships, or realizing where things are in the scene. They can lose a concept of proportion and scale. By moving in to very close shots, however, you can often help the viewer to appreciate craftsmanship, and subtleties that he would otherwise overlook in longer shots. Screen-filling shots of people may appear dramatic. But they can -equally well emphasize complexion or dental defects.

Very close cameras can distract performers and prevent other cameras from seeing the subject. Consequently, you often find yourself taking closeups from a distance with a narrow lens angle, notwithstanding perspective and handling disadvantages.

Action area

The action area in very close shots becomes extremely limited, and movements easily pass outside the shot. It is best to rest the item on a firm surface, at a marked position.

Depth of field

In close shots, the depth of field can become so restricted that only part of the subject is sharply focused, the rest becoming an indistinct blur.