ABSTRACT
Although character close-ups can be taken with a wide range of focal lengths, the resulting images will have distinct looks and feel different from one another, even if everything else about them is similar. This is a function of the different types of distortion that occur to a face because of the various distances needed to frame a close-up with a given focal length. Audiences may not be aware of the technical reasons behind these looks, but can tell that some shots feel distant while others feel closer and more intimate. Experienced filmmakers are aware of this effect, and often pick a lens based on the level of physical closeness and intimacy they want an audience to feel at a given moment. Alejandro G. Inarritu’s historical survival drama, The Revenant, includes a series of shots where the implied physical proximity of the audience to a character is manipulated to signal that a life-changing event is taking place.
