ABSTRACT

The camera is the tool that a person uses to interpret the scene they are shooting. It is a way of showing the scene, but more importantly it’s a way of selecting pieces of the scene to show and to emphasize. When the camera is on its telephoto end of the zoom the field of view may be around 5 degrees, a very narrow angle, like looking down a tube. There is distortion in this type of lens as well, apparent compression of distance, and flattening of curved surfaces. Wide-angle lenses have characteristics that affect the image they produce. A wide-angle lens will create the appearance of objects being far apart, as if there is great separation between them. The height of the camera is important in giving the audience a sense of how they should perceive a scene. The distortions of the lens that people have seen are further emphasized by using the height of the camera.