How to use a Split Focus Diopter | Shanks FX | PBS Digital Studios
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- Опубліковано 13 бер 2016
- A split focus diopter is an unique way to achieve the illusion of deep focus. The half convex glass attaches in front of the camera's lens to make half the lens nearsighted.
Before the digital age of cinema, many directors made frequent use of the split-focus diopter.
The split diopter allowed directors to capture two main focal points in just one shot, rather than having to shoot two different angles.
I've always noticed split diopter shots in older movies but never really researched how they were done. I got inspired to find out more when I saw this technique used in The Hateful Eight (in glorious 70mm).
I re-watched Inglorious Bastards, Django Unchained & Kill Bill Vol I, and was surprised that I couldn't find any split diopter shots.
Here is a great little montage of split diopter shots in some well known films.
• Video
I got my split diopter for 35 dollars on Ebay... Look for "77mm Split Field Two Field Special Effects" (this diopter was equivalent to a +2.0 power in reading glasses)
And please comment below and share other split diopter shots used in movies!
PS- You may notice that there is a small little crack in my split diopter. That crack happened from the frisbee golf shoot which was the first day I got it.
Music by: Big Fok
In Association with: PBS Digital Studios - Навчання та стиль
in a sea of 'talkie' youtube videos with close to no actual info in them, this is a true gem. Well done.
Thanks for teaching me some new tricks
Eye glass lenses idea for achieving the effect on an iPhone is ingenious! I’m a massive fan of De Palma and all his crazy shots including the SD, but budgetary restraints kept me from achieving it till you guys brought up this idea. Now I can shoot it on my phone. Great video.
This was excellent. I've noticed this effect many times and never thought of a totally analog tool to achieve it. Fascinating. Thank you for this awesome video!
My favorite camera trick
Your episodes and tips are unbelievably helpful to not just me, but a ton of my friends as well!!! Keep making more kickass episodes👌👍🤘✌🙃
This was a very cool way to get to know this lense. Thank you for sharing your work. ~Sheeara, Alaska
Also used in Paris Texas, the shot where Walt is driving Travis into LA. The blur plane is hidden by the edge of the car windshield.
Was just watching Somewhere in Time and noticed this effect for the first time at the end of the film. Thanks for the insight!
La Haine has one of the best uses for split diopter imo
Very well made and clear explanation. Also nerding out about the vintage action figures. Dude, you shot Bib Fortuna!
nice quick explanation! thanks I wasn't even thinking about forced perspective
Wow!
Nice video!
Just a minor quibble, but the Jackie Brown shot is actually a swing-shift lens! It's a very similar effect, but the key difference is that the plane of focus is on a diagonal along the z-axis, rather than there being two separate planes. This results in a lack of distinctive focal split, and instead diffuses the shot elements not within the diagonal plane (as you can see with the right side of the judge's face).
Thanks for sharing! enjoyed the video, like always.
QUESTION
did filmmakers use this because raising the aperture on a film camera to get deep focus would make it more difficult to light the scene ?
+rebel code That's definitely one of the reasons but think its more of a stylistic choice.
+Shanks FX thank you for answering !
I don't think that's the reason. I think it's to give more of an "effect" like dolly zoom.
Ive always wanted to know this
Awesome video
Loved it in All The President's Men. Got more of their 70s office space in focus.
amazing freaking video thanks a lot man!
Really cool. Never even knew these existed
Love it! Thanks so much!
awesome video
Cool...I love the use w/Forced Perspective...!
Excellent technique, I shoot film as a hobby and will definitely look into experimenting with this effect! :)
aheck yeah! I've always wondered about this! Now I know, thanks
Loving this. Just watched Reservoir Dogs yesterday, and the clip you showed here; I thought it was some green screen thing going on....nice!
Very cool demonstration. Another way to achieve two different focus distances in the same shot is by tilting the lens, either with a tilt capable or adapted lens or just by free lensing (detaching the lens from the camera and holding it by hand). Suggestion: comparison between the split focus filter and a tilted lens?
very cool. I like the music btw.
What is the name of the devise you used to allow yourself to rotate the split diopter lens?
If you watch The Andromeda Strain (1971) almost every shot uses this effect. I love it. My films will be full of them.
I just picked up a split focus diopter +1. Still very new to this and I'm probably not using it as efficiently as I could. I first go about focusing my camera on the background subject and then moving myself (or foreground subject) until it falls into focus. I feel it's taking me a lot longer than it should to get both planes in focus properly. I'm using a 50mm 1.4 on a Nikon d810 and I'm generally leaving the aperture at 1.4-2.8.
How do you set up your fame? Is there a specific aperture you maintain?
Any tips would be much appreciated! Thanks!
ive always loved the split diopter and did it digitally
digitally? so everything tack sharp then mask blur for flavor or something else?
no, shoot two shots focused on different points and matte
+Conner K Ward seems the harder way to go more takes, manage the camera tracking. and you can't, well in one take, get that "football pass" with both in focus without practice
@@DingoAteMeBaby you mean like focusing stacking for photos?
Great vid thanx
Cool. Where can I get for Panasonic GH4?
Exelenteeeeeeee!
I love so much Brian De Palma...
Steven "Stephen" Spielberg
I was wondering how Qunetin did it Thanks!
Awesome video. thanks. Music by: Big Fok, name of the track please?
These shots are sick I really want this lens, does anyone know if I can buy the attachment for my Canon Zoom Lens EF Ultrasonic 24 - 70mm ? Thanks in advance
Hello! Good tutorial! I am trying to recreate your COSMOS effect and I want to know what amount of each substance I should use for a more precise time lapses. I have already seen your making of video and I depth and I could really use some material. Thanks.
+Coby Resnick My favorite cosmic shots I've captured usually occur when I walk away for a few minutes and let the liquids and gravity do their thing.
Sometimes I get impatient when I stay and watch, b/c I don't think anything is happening but when you are filming at 1fps, a lot of things are happening.
Just came on this video, while searching for creative ideas on tilt shifting. This technique is almost like it. Only you don’t need a specific lens to create the effect.
Would thinner lens reduce the blur?
what's the brand for the thing you put the lens in the black piece?
I forgot about the Split Focus Diopter!
I think I have an A series Cokin. Which lens would you recommend for that size?
+SpanglySundew I think the 77mm should fit this, looks like the same size as mine. Better to have more glass than not enough.
why this practice (split focus) has become less popular with the advent of digital cameras? are there new alternatives? thx
There's a Russian film called Come and See from 1985 (most graphic film about WWII) that has a few shots that look like they may be split diopter, but look really rough...
👍👍👍
Django!
What app were you using there with your iPhone to record video?
+TheEntireUniverse MoviePro app
Its awesome, you have a lot more control with audio and exposure, but it compresses the video kind of video. I've been seeing some weird artifacts when I take it into edit.
what is the audio track played in this video?? Awesome!!!
It sounds like a remix of the Django theme song
Django Refokused
by Big Fok....check bandcamp
im still trying to find the right settings of aperture-shutter-ISO to take great zoom moon pictures ...
that maybe tough even with a +4 or +5 due to distance but give it a shot you might find something interesting. the moon can be a fickle beast because of its light vs the scene.
What’s the background music? I love it. The beat is amazing.
It's a remix of Django theme song
Django Refokused
by Big Fok....check bandcamp
I always thought that these shots were double exposures and were edited somehow to make it work
Yeah, that's exactly what I thought they were doing as well.
what's the name of the song?
Is that a remix of the Django theme?
no help using shazam... I looked for it too :D
He shot bib!
nice vid thanks!
just one thing ...STEVEN Spielberg not Stephen Spielberg @ 1: 02
One of my old questions answered at last. The first Mission Impossible Tom Cruise movie is still the best. Class all the way. I mean compared to the rest of the Jackie Chan fest that it became.
2:33 No Bib Fortuna!
Anyone know where to order these lens attachments and how much they cost?
+Jason Pavik I have a inexpensive Cokin P Series Square filter bundle, that comes with that frame. As luck has it, the 77mm Split Focus Diopter fit perfectly into the frames that usually hold square filters.
Look up "Cokin P Series for DSLR Cameras" on Amazon.
I like this shot if you have something blurry between the subjects, but otherwise just close the aperture.
ഇതൊക്കെ .ഞങ്ങടെ പ്രിയദർശൻ sir തേന്മവിൻകോമ്പത്തിൽ കാണിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്...in 1994...
can i do this effect without this split focus diopter ? is yes, how?
You could record the same footage twice with different focal lenghts. Then, in an edit program like Adobe Premiere Pro, layer the footage on top of eachother and mask out one area of the top layer. This is the only solution i could think of without using a split focus diopter.
of course, you would need to adjust your shutter speed or ISO to match the exposure of the previous take, but it can be done :)
Great vid - still not a fan of that kind of shot though ;)
+Filmmaker IQ Yeah, it can really stand out & become detracting. I think Tarantino uses the split diopter pretty well, where many times its invisible.
This technique is actually really great for "How-To" videos cause you go show two things happening at the same time.
I used the split diopter in my previous "Water Illusions" episode where I was able to capture the water hose, speaker, and my tone generator all in the same frame.
If you're doing it right, it doesn't look like you're doing it at all.
Yeah if it's done really well it should look just like deep focus and in that case it's a great tool - but I've seen only a handful of cases like that. Seems like a lot of directors who use it want you to _know_ it's a split diopter shot.
Spielberg uses this technique in some of his movies, it can be really useful but only if you know when to use it
Anyone after KURUTHI
Outside of the film examples shown, the examples of the diopter in this video are...not good
Quentin Tarantinos shots are actually not done all too well. Split is too noticeable The shots that look best are the ones with the split on a dimly lit background, plain background, or just the side of the close subject so without looking for too long, appears to be just the side of the subject going out of focus
I'm surprised how much I see this shot now. It's popping back up in movies big time. Mank, Waves, and Under the Silverlake are just a few that come to mind at the top of my head.
Cool video! Now having said that, boy do I hate this shot. It's probably the most unnatural, distracting, and ugly shots ever used in film. Just looking at it makes my eyes feel like somebody smeared Vaseline on them. I'm so glad most directors don't do this any more.
+Ryan Cox Haha - I totally agree and I catch flack for saying nobody uses it anymore... it's a very rare tool.
lol! it's not for everyone that's for sure. I like the gimmick for westerns like "the Quick & the Dead" but it can play with your head for sure!