02.03.01
Lens & Distance
Separate camera position from field of view.
- Cinematography
- Camera Fundamentals
What the Instructor can readThe Instructor reads your frames in the order you give them. It cannot assess movement, performance timing or sound from stills. This lesson's feedback rubric is new and has not been reviewed by an instructor yet.
The Idea
Separate camera position from field of view.
Camera position changes perspective: the relative size and alignment of objects at different distances. Focal length changes field of view for a given image format. When filmmakers switch lenses and move the camera to keep a subject similarly sized, both choices interact. It is easy to attribute the whole result to “the lens” and overlook the move.
You can explore the distinction with a phone. From one position, a crop narrows the view but does not create a new viewpoint. Move closer and the relationship between a near object and distant background can change. Phone lens switching may involve different cameras or digital processing, so record what you did without claiming a precise optical comparison. The point is to connect a physical decision to visible relationships, not to guess equipment from a picture.
Watch
Watching is optional. The worked example below is a complete route through the lesson on its own. These links identify the films — they are not a promise of free streaming, and the questions are FILMCRAFT's own.
PlayTime
Jacques Tati · 1967
Observe how foreground and background share a composition.
In the Mood for Love
Wong Kar-wai · 2000
Observe separation between a nearby obstruction and a farther subject. Describe apparent relationships without identifying an unverified lens.
Break It Down
Place a mug close to the camera and a chair farther away. From position A, photograph both. Crop that image: the mug and chair retain their relative proportions within the surviving image. Now move back and reframe so the mug is similarly sized. The chair may occupy a different proportion relative to the mug because the viewpoint changed. Keep the mug and chair still to make the comparison interpretable.
- 01
Worked example
Place a mug close to the camera and a chair farther away. From position A, photograph both. Crop that image: the mug and chair retain their relative proportions within the surviving image. Now move back and reframe so the mug is similarly sized. The chair may occupy a different proportion relative to the mug because the viewpoint changed. Keep the mug and chair still to make the comparison interpretable.
Frame Lab
Visual mission
Draw a top-down diagram with camera A, camera B, mug and chair. Record approximate distances using floor tiles or paces; precision is less important than documenting which variable changed.
FILMCRAFT stores your observations and source links — never other people's images.
Try It
Try It
Submit exactly two images: one original photograph and a clearly labeled crop of that same photograph. Add 80–120 words about what changed and what did not. The crop is derived from your original, not a second viewpoint.
Exactly 2 frames.
Frame 1: Original · Frame 2: Crop of your own original
Constraints
- Frame 2 is a crop of your own frame 1, not a second capture
Deliverable
exactly 2 original frames, in order · crop versus moved viewpoint (80–120 words)
Make It
Make It
Submit exactly three original photographs from three camera positions, keeping the near subject approximately the same size through reframing where possible. Add 150–220 words documenting positions and any phone lens/zoom changes you actually made. Compare background scale and overlap, acknowledging uncontrolled variables.
Exactly 3 frames.
Constraints
- Document what you kept constant
- Subject size need not match pixel for pixel
Deliverable
exactly 3 original frames, in order · what changed between positions (150–220 words)
AI Lab
Ask AI to compare visible relationships, explicitly forbidding equipment guesses. Check its claims against your position notes. If it calls an image “85mm,” treat that as unsupported unless you supplied trustworthy capture data. Use AI to formulate a new comparison, then photograph it yourself.
Sign in to sketch reference frames for this lesson.
Reflect
Go Deeper
Repeat with a flat wall rather than deep space. Why does the perspective difference become less obvious?