What Determines Depth of Field (DOF) in Film and Video?

Depth of field is represented in cinematography as an area that is between the nearest and farthest objects. In which there is an acceptably sharp focus of an image. In layman’s terms, the depth of field is the area that is in focus within the frame. While cinematographers explain depth of field using various tactics. And have different ways of learning how to understand differences in depth of field. It’s important to establish your own visible understanding of depth of field. But what determines depth of field (DOF) in film and video?

What is Depth of Field?

Depth of field (DOF) is the size of the area that is in acceptable sharpness between the nearest and farthest object in your frame. The DOF can vary based on many different factors and may be manipulated in various manners, too.

Learning how to recognize the depth of field visually and what it means for your shot composition is important as you gain understanding of different shots and effects that are used to draw out emotions of your audience and connect your characters with your intended viewers.

What Determines Depth of Field?

So, what determines depth of field (DOF) in film and video? The depth of field is determined by your aperture, focus, and distance. The actual depth of field is inclusive of a width, height, and depth of the area in that is acceptably sharp within the frame. 

When examining depth of field, you must understand how it works. Think about a long hallway.

If you were standing in a hallway and you placed a door 10 ft in, then you kept walking and placed another door 40 ft in and then measured the area between the two doors you would have your depth of field. This is the distance between your two objects (the doors).

The depth of field is determined by the total amount of space between your objects. Anything that falls between the two would be acceptably sharp, and anything that is outside the two would be blurred or not in focus.

What Manipulates Depth of Field?

There are different ways that the filmmaker can manipulate the depth of field in film and video.

The most common ways to adjust the depth of field include:

• Sensor Size –  the larger your sensor, the more light that will come in and the smaller your depth of field. A smaller sensor will result in a larger depth of field.
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• Aperture – The wider your aperture, the more shallow your depth of field will be whereas the smaller your aperture the larger your depth of field will be. Remember, f/stops get lower for a higher aperture and higher for a lower aperture.
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• Focus Distance – the closer you are to your subject, the more shallow your depth of field will be. The further you move away, the more deep your depth of field will be.

Now that you know what determines depth of field (DOF) in film and video, consider all the ways that you can manipulate the DOF to your filming advantage.