Something for Focus Pullers

[kunal2]

Hi buddies
I was just thinking if manufacturers of cinecameras could equip their cameras with a multidirectional infrared beam in front, so that focus pullers with a wireless remote touchscreen lcd monitor could at wish autofocus on subject he's been instruct to do, thus minimizing errors in focus pulling.I remember my old EO5 film slr was equipped with five focussing points in the viewfinder and at wish u can select the points by simply looking at one of them,if we can use more or less the same principle would be great i think.
The use of an infrared beam in front of the camera will simply target the focussing range,returning instruction to the camera's autofocussing mechanism preventing casual focus errors found in digital slr's,but all focussing direction will b done by the focus puller with the help of his touch screen LCD monitor...would love to hear what you think guys
cheez
DigitAlchemist

[Ace]

It almost seems like a natural progression for digital cinema cameras. Perhaps this is something for the RED2

[James T Mather]

now all it needs is someone to invent it.

[AftonGrant]

It would be an interesting system, no doubt. I think the barrier would be that it sounds like a rather costly solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. Experienced camera assistants are excellent judges of distance and can hit their marks virtually every single time.


A human is not restricted by a limited number of focus points from which to choose in the frame. 5 would be way too few. Even 25 wouldn't be enough, and any more above that would simply get confusing.

You would need to program in the speed at which you would like the pull to take place. Some pulls are a couple seconds long, others are fractions of a second. How would you determine exactly what speed you need?

What if it's not a rack focus? What if it's simply maintaining focus on a moving subject in the frame whose distance varies over the duration of the shot? Would the device have a tracking feature also?

What if the item on which you want to focus is not even in the frame yet?

The list goes on, and that's all forgetting about the on-set technical support required for such a system.


Cinetape already exists to "assist" the focus puller, but it's nothing more than something to check if necessary.

I know this sounds like a buzz kill. I've been operating Steadicam for a while now and believe me, I've racked my brain to conceive of "better" focus solutions, since pulling focus for Steadicam is one of the most difficult tasks for an AC. I'm not saying it can never be done. For now though, nothing is more reliable, easy to use, and efficient than the human brain and eyes.

Best to all,
Afton

[kunal2]

Hi,
the issues you put are very interesting,but I didn't mean using focussing point to focus on specific areas,only to reference my old EOS 5(sorry fot not making myself clear),but using a sort of laser/infrared beam in front of the camera controlled by the focus puller with his touch screen lcd monitor,so whatever areas he choose, the beam simply point at it and return information to the camera,now for tracking subjects he just keep holding his finger on the touch screen and the beam tracks the subject down,as you said creative focus in or focus out remain an issue(I mean the speed)but i think if this workflow is adopted,will need a lot of brains join together to make it happen.
thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge

It would be an interesting system, no doubt. I think the barrier would be that it sounds like a rather costly solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. Experienced camera assistants are excellent judges of distance and can hit their marks virtually every single time.


A human is not restricted by a limited number of focus points from which to choose in the frame. 5 would be way too few. Even 25 wouldn't be enough, and any more above that would simply get confusing.

You would need to program in the speed at which you would like the pull to take place. Some pulls are a couple seconds long, others are fractions of a second. How would you determine exactly what speed you need?

What if it's not a rack focus? What if it's simply maintaining focus on a moving subject in the frame whose distance varies over the duration of the shot? Would the device have a tracking feature also?

What if the item on which you want to focus is not even in the frame yet?

The list goes on, and that's all forgetting about the on-set technical support required for such a system.


Cinetape already exists to "assist" the focus puller, but it's nothing more than something to check if necessary.

I know this sounds like a buzz kill. I've been operating Steadicam for a while now and believe me, I've racked my brain to conceive of "better" focus solutions, since pulling focus for Steadicam is one of the most difficult tasks for an AC. I'm not saying it can never be done. For now though, nothing is more reliable, easy to use, and efficient than the human brain and eyes.

Best to all,
Afton

[Martin Drew]

It would be an interesting system, no doubt. I think the barrier would be that it sounds like a rather costly solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. Experienced camera assistants are excellent judges of distance and can hit their marks virtually every single time.
Afton

You can always argue that we never need new tools, why bother with power screwdrivers when manual ones work just fine? Why bother with ballpoint pens when quills work just fine? etc etc.

What about those situations when a camera operator is pulling their own focus, or when the camera assistant isn't as experienced as you would like, or you are shooting through a window (so you can't use a tape). I can imagine all sorts of benefits with a targetable autofocus system. You don't have to use it for dynamically altering focus during a shot, that could still be done manually.

M