Focal Length
Definition
Focal Length is a measurement (in millimeters) of the optical distance between the lens's optical center and the camera's image sensor when focused at infinity. It determines the angle of view of the lens: shorter focal lengths (wide-angle lenses, e.g., 18mm, 24mm) capture a wider field of view and appear to push the background further away, while longer focal lengths (telephoto lenses, e.g., 85mm, 135mm, 200mm) capture a narrower field of view and appear to compress the distance between the subject and the background. The choice of focal length is one of the most important creative decisions in cinematography.
Contextual Usage
The DP explains the lens strategy for the film: "I want to shoot all the intimate scenes on longer focal lengths — 85mm and 100mm. The compression will make the environments feel more claustrophobic and will give us a beautiful separation between the actors and the background. For the action sequences, we'll go wider — 24mm and 35mm — to give a sense of space and energy."
About this section
Production — or "principal photography" — is the phase in which the film or video is actually shot. It is the most visible and, typically, the most expensive phase of the entire process. Every day on ...
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