{"id":70153,"date":"2016-03-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=70153"},"modified":"2016-03-03T09:58:44","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03T15:58:44","slug":"focus-charts-for-videographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/focus-charts-for-videographers\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Focus Charts and Why Do You Need One?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"ever-used-a-focus-chart-learn-more-about-this-important-filmmaking-tool-and-discover-how-it-can-help-your-next-production\">Ever used a\u00a0focus chart? Learn\u00a0more about this important filmmaking tool and discover how it can help your next production.<\/h2>\n<p><em>Top image via\u00a0<a title=\"Hurlbut Visuals\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hurlbutvisuals.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Hurlbut Visuals<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The very first thing you need to do before you ever roll on a single camera is obtain\u00a0<strong>critical focus<\/strong>. By making absolutely sure you have <strong>critical<\/strong> <strong>focus<\/strong>, you&#8217;re ensuring that your final product is of professional quality. Most cameras have a\u00a0magnify feature option that allows you to crop in closely to a subject and set your focus.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Basic Filmmaker\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCx5KB2QDUDH-o8PFnF3yJCQ\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Basic Filmmaker<\/a> has a great four-part series on how to get the <strong>critical<\/strong> <strong>focus<\/strong> you need. Here&#8217;s the first part.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uOSL2mUoXjk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There are several tools you can use while on location or on set that will help you <strong>capture<\/strong> <strong>critical<\/strong> <strong>focus<\/strong>. One such tool is a <strong>focus<\/strong> <strong>chart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"what-is-a-focus-chart\">What Is a Focus Chart?<\/h3>\n<p>Basically, a\u00a0<strong>focus<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>chart<\/strong>\u00a0acts like a target. It gives you multiple areas to\u00a0zoom in on in order to get the focus you need.\u00a0You will usually\u00a0see a <strong>focus chart<\/strong> utilized in a controlled studio environment, but it isn&#8217;t always necessary. <strong>Focus charts<\/strong> are typically used when\u00a0working with shallower depths of field. It&#8217;s common to see <strong>focus charts<\/strong> used on a product or low-light shoot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Focus charts<\/strong> can also be used for calibrating lenses and testing your camera&#8217;s autofocus. Using a <strong>focus chart<\/strong>, you can quickly determine if your lens or your camera is causing chromatic distortions.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71928 size-full\" title=\"Focus Chart\" src=\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg\" alt=\"Focus Chart\" width=\"755\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg 755w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=300,165 300w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=277,152 277w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=359,197 359w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=543,298 543w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=560,308 560w, https:\/\/vip-go.premiumbeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Focus-Chart.jpg?resize=150,82 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 755px) 100vw, 755px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Image via\u00a0<a title=\"Distant Blue\" href=\"http:\/\/www.distantblue.at\/#\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Distant Blue<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 id=\"where-can-you-get-your-hands-on-one\">Where Can You Get Your Hands on One?<\/h3>\n<p>When you first do a <a title=\"Google Shop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&amp;ion=1&amp;espv=2&amp;ie=UTF-8#q=focus+chart&amp;tbm=shop\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">search for <strong>focus charts<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0you&#8217;ll find that they aren&#8217;t cheap. The less-expensive\u00a0ones are around $100, while some can get as high as $1500 or more. If you&#8217;re on a budget, you can download\u00a0Distant Blue&#8217;s <a title=\"Distant Blue\" href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/focus-chart\/id808174720?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Focus Chart App<\/a>. It&#8217;s free and essentially turns your smart phone or tablet into a <strong>focus chart.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you would rather have a printed version of the <strong>focus chart,\u00a0<\/strong>but don&#8217;t have the money to purchase one, then you can make one in\u00a0Illustrator. Join <a title=\"Adobe\" href=\"http:\/\/tv.adobe.com\/show\/adobe-evangelist-colin-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Adobe evangelist Colin Smith<\/a>\u00a0in this great video tutorial as he breaks down the process.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7FfGxAnl34E?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Video via\u00a0<a class=\"yt-uix-sessionlink g-hovercard      spf-link \" title=\"VideoRevealed\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfzAdXeniYhIGlFndHYPiYg\" target=\"_blank\" data-sessionlink=\"itct=CDEQ4TkiEwjM49zgipTLAhXVVqoKHfvECQoo-B0\" data-ytid=\"UCfzAdXeniYhIGlFndHYPiYg\">VideoRevealed<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you use a focus chart for your productions? How do you capture critical focus?<\/strong> Share your techniques in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever used a focus chart? Learn more about this important filmmaking tool and discover how it can help your next production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":71925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4519,3843,21,583],"tags":[1093,536,153,472],"class_list":["post-class-post-70153","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-cinematography-2","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-tutorials","post-class-category-video-production-2","post-class-tag-cinematography","post-class-tag-filmmaking","post-class-tag-tutorials-2","post-class-tag-video-production"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.5 (Yoast SEO v21.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Are Focus Charts and Why Do You Need One?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ever used a focus chart? 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