Close-ups

· Unique to movies. Nothing equivalent in other art forms such as stage play, opera, ballet, literature or music. Or even in still photography where, although effective, a close-up is on its own and not in contrast to what is before and after. Only a movie (and perhaps the comic strip) allows a large scale portrayal of a portion of the action.

· Not determined by the absolute size of the object. The screen filling object might be a tiny mechanical part, or a clenched fist, or a face, or a battleship.

· Transports the viewer into the scene.

· Eliminates all non-essentials for that moment.

· Isolates the item that needs emphasis.

· Adds dramatic impact (even if the movie is not a “drama”).

· Adds visual clarity.

· Close-ups of tiny objects have fascination of there own. They show objects in a detail not usually seen.

· May need a known object to provide scale, e.g. a finger.

· Because so powerful, should be reserved for vital spots.

· In unscripted filming, extra close-ups should be taken in case they may be needed as cut-aways at the editing stage, e.g. hands, to cover what would otherwise be a jump.

· If used badly they can confuse the audience.

Examples

1. A short drama full of close-ups. (6 minutes)

2. A short drama with minimum close-ups. (8 minutes)

Close-up Techniques

· Most modern video cameras are particularly good at close-ups. Zoom lenses with internal automatic focusing make it easy to go close.

· Non-interchangeable lenses, where you can’t use extension rings or bellows, may limit you if you want to go closer than the zoom unaided. Screw-in close-up lenses are usually limited to 1, 2, 3 or 4 dioptres, but these strengths usually overlap the zooms ability anyway so don’t help. A great alternative is to use a prime lens from your 35mm SLR camera. A 50mm standard lens is 20 dioptres and will probably have a standard screw thread fore or aft which can be attached to the front of your video camera, perhaps by a step-up or reversing ring.

Examples

Extreme close-ups with and without supplementary lens. (2 ¼ minutes)