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FilmSkool — a free film school

Blurry Backgrounds Are (Not) Cinematic

DSLRguide questions the idea that a blurry background is what makes an image cinematic, looking at how often films actually use very shallow focus.

DSLRguide · 5 min · Beginner · CIN · Cinematography · 2022

What you take away

Blur is a choice with a purpose, not a shortcut to cinematic.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for cinematography

Books on cinematography

Kit for this lesson

Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 — Warm, cheap, and everywhere — a first vintage prime
Minolta MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 — Glowing highlights wide open, pin-sharp stopped down
Jupiter 9 85mm f/2 — Soviet Sonnar copy — creamy, slightly soft wide open
Contax Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.7 — Zeiss rendering for the price of a filter
Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM — The portrait-adjacent normal
Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM — The RF standard zoom, stabilised

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