1. LENS
PERSPECTIVE

2. “Lens perspective refers to the way lenses
represent space. Different kinds of lenses
have different effects on the way we
perceive depth and dimensionality within an
image. . . . Lenses are usually chosen for
how they represent space.”
- Bruce Mamer, Film Production
Technique: Creating the Accomplished
Image (2008)

3. WIDE - ANGLE
LENS

4. The wide-angle lens elongates space
and exaggerates distance.
Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)

5. The wide-angle lens can make people
seem dwarfed by their environment.
The Piano (Campion, 1993)

6. The wide-angle lens stretches
perspective.
The Shining (Kubrick, 1980)

7. The wide-angle lens can maintain
deep focus.
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

8. The wide-angle lens can create a
feeling of vast space.
The Conversation (Coppola, 1974)

9. The wide-angle lens at a low angle
creates a sense of cavernous space.
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

10. The wide-angle lens distorts faces
close to the camera.
Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989)

11. TELEPHOTO
LENS

12. The telephoto lens squashes space
and compresses distance.
Barry Lyndon (Kubrick, 1975)

13. The telephoto lens brings people closer
to the camera.
The Conversation (Coppola, 1974)

14. The telephoto lens can create a shallow
depth of field.
Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)

15. The telephoto lens distorts movement
toward the camera.
The Graduate (Nichols, 1967)

16. NORMAL
LENS

17. A normal lens represents space and
distance as they normally appear.
Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950)

18. . . . Changing lenses for the amount of
information the lens gathers (its “field”) is only a
partial use of a lens. Lenses have different
feelings about them. Different lenses will tell a
story differently.
-Sidney Lumet, Making Movies (1996)