Variable depth of field effect in Huawei P10 commercial
Modern smartphones such as the iPhone X, 11 Pro; Huawei P10; Samsung Galaxy have dual, triple and more camera technology that allow users to create photographs with an (adjustable) depth of field effect, where the background is blurred, emulating the shallow depth of field look achieved with professional large sensor cameras.
Read more about how dual camera technology works.
“I wanted to show the depth of field effect happening in real time. Luckily I had met Oliver Janesh Christiansen of Cinefade just weeks earlier at the Camerimage Festival in Poland, who have the only system that can vary depth of field in one shot at constant exposure. Cinefade was the perfect solution to the problem I was facing.”
David wanted to gradually transition from a deep depth of field to a shallow depth of field in one shot to blur the background and isolate the foreground subject. This draws attention to the depth of field effect and communicates to consumers the capabilities of the P10 phone and the artistic value that the feature offers.
WATCH THE HUAWEI P10 COMMERCIAL WITH CINEFADE
Shot by David Procter
HOW TO VARY DEPTH OF FIELD IN ONE SHOT AND ACHIEVE THE HUAWEI P10 DEPTH OF FIELD EFFECT
Production company The Mill from the UK organised the week-long shoot in Ukraine and hired a system directly from Cinefade in London. The system includes a two motor cmotion cPRO system, the cmotion Cinefade VariND filters and all cables and accessories necessary. A User Manual was included so that the Ukraine-based ACs could follow the step-by-step guide to setup and operate the Cinefade system.
David Procter used Cooke S5i lenses, shooting on an Arri camera. The planned shot involved an elaborate set build so that a crane could fly through an array of light bulbs, revealing a man in the foreground. The depth of field transitions from a deep to a shallow depth of field, as the phone is revealed, blurring the background and causing a nice bookeh effect with the light bulbs.
Cinefade is operated via one of the four control axis (iris slider, focus knob, zoom micro force, thumbwheel) on the cPRO hand unit. After the crane is moved through the array of light bulbs and reveals the man in the foreground, the iris slider (or one of the other axis) is operated at the desired speed to vary depth of field.
A motor on the iris, which doubles as the wireless receiver opens the aperture from T8 to T1.4, while Cinefade VariND rotates one of two polarisers, controlling the light transmission through the lens to ensure the exposure remains constant.
The phone, the black and white effect and the speed ramp are added in post production. No post production is applied to achieve the Cinefade effect or to keep the exposure constant.
The variable depth of field system is available to buy or rent in the UK, directly from Cinefade or through one of our worldwide rental partners. Please feel free to get in touch with Founder Oliver Janesh Christiansen for more information.
Oliver Janesh Christiansen at Cinefade
+44 (0) 77 8993 0557
oliver@cinefade.com