Deep focus

Deep focus is a cinematographic technique in which foreground, middle ground, and background remain sharply focused within the same shot.

Depth of field: The range of distances in an image that appear acceptably sharp. Deep focus requires enough depth of field to render multiple distances sharp.
Citizen Kane: A 1941 film directed by Orson Welles about the life of fictional newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane. Its deep-focus compositions became a celebrated model for the technique.
Shallow focus: A cinematographic technique that keeps a narrow range of distances sharp and blurs other planes. It isolates selected subjects instead of keeping foreground, middle ground, and background sharp.
Gregg Toland: An American cinematographer known for deep-focus photography in films including Citizen Kane. His lighting and lens work made deep-focus compositions practical in major studio productions.
Mise-en-scène: The arrangement of setting, lighting, costume, and movement within a film frame. Deep focus expands how mise-en-scène can organize meaning across a shot’s depth.
Hyperfocal distance: The focus distance that maximizes depth of field from half that distance to infinity. Focusing near this distance can keep a scene’s foreground and background acceptably sharp.
The Best Years of Our Lives: A 1946 American drama directed by William Wyler about servicemen returning home after World War II. Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography keeps foreground action and distant events legible together.
Rack focus: A deliberate shift in focus from one subject or depth plane to another within a shot. It redirects attention by changing sharpness, where deep focus can leave competing planes clear.
Orson Welles: An American filmmaker and actor who directed Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. His staging and long takes turned deep focus into a conspicuous storytelling method.
Long take: A continuous shot that lasts longer than a typical shot before the film cuts. Deep focus often supports long takes by keeping multiple actions visible without reframing.

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