Focal Point

Project the Course Presentation in the student chapter Focal Point, or have students access it.

Show the first slide to explain the idea of a focal point: concentrating on just the important part of story (the first time you rode on a roller coaster) instead of every detail.

Go to the second slide. Explain that stories in different media are different ways the same story can be told, but all good stories have one main idea.

For books, the main idea is called a theme. In movie, the same thing is called a story spine.

In some books, the theme may be the same as its story, or a simple lesson. But usually a book will have larger theme: the question that the writer wants the readers to ask, or the lesson that the main character has to learn.

Go to the third slide and explain that the same is true for pictures or other visual media. Well composed pictures are about one thing, and they show that through their focal point. Skilled media makers use different rules of notice to draw our eyes to the focal point.

Ask: What is the focal point of this image? How do you know?

At this point take a poll – ask students when one idea is being communicated, what is it called? Raise your hand if it’s Theme, if it’s Story Spine, if it’s Focal Point.

The trick answer is they are all correct.

Advance to the fourth slide and tell students that the image they have just seen was taken by Dorotha Lange, a famous photographer who worked mostly in the 1930s. You are now going to look at some of her other photos to learn how photographers make an image with a strong focal point.

Now advance to the fifth slide and ask: What does it mean when we say part of an image is in focus or out of focus?

An image is in focus if it is clear and defined. Lines will be straight and details clear if an image is in focus.

An image is out of focus if it is fuzzy and poorly defined. Lines will be wavy and details hazy if an image is in focus.

In this image, we know the two houses at the bottom centre are the focal point because they are the ones in focus. Our eyes are drawn to them first, and then to the dust storm in the background that’s about to swallow them up.

If you have delivered the lesson Camera Angle, ask students: What kind of shot is this? Why was it the best choice for this photo?

The photo is a wide shot. It makes the houses look small in front of the dust storm.

Advance to the sixth slide. Ask: Who is this picture about? How is she feeling? How did the photographer make sure she was the focal point?

This shot uses several rules of notice that we’ve already learned about: she is in the middle of the image, and her hair is dark against the background.

It also adds two new tools: eyes and hands.

Our eyes are drawn to images of eyes, and follow where they’re looking. Because we can’t see the children’s eyes, we know to focus on hers.

Our eyes follow hands and fingers in the direction they’re pointing. The position of her left arm and hand draws us back to her face.

If you have delivered the lesson Camera Angle, ask students: What kind of shot is this? Why was it the best choice for this photo?

This photo is a medium shot. It shows us not just how she’s feeling (like a close-up would) but other details that give hints about why she’s feeling that way (her children, the holes in their clothes and the ragged edge of her sleeve).

Go to the seventh slide and ask: What is this picture about? Look at the details of the hand and the wall. What is the hand doing? Does it feel like it’s pushing against the wall, or leaning against it? How do you know? Would it feel different if the arm were in a straight line instead of a diagonal?

If you have delivered the lesson Camera Angle, ask students: What kind of shot is this? Why was it the best choice for this photo?

This photo is a close-up. It gives a feeling of being tired by showing just a hand using the wall for support.

Now advance to the eighth slide. Explain that these are not photos by Dorothea Lange – you are now going to look at some examples of photos with an without a focal point and try to identify which are which.

Tell students to look at the three photos and ask: Does your eye know where to go when you look at them? Is there a focal point that tells you what the photo is about? Can you tell what the person who took the photos was thinking when they took them?

Now show students slides nine and ten. Ask: Which is the better photo? Which has a clearer focal point? How do you know?

The first photo has a lot of detail that makes it hard to know what to focus on. The dark line of the top of the wall leads your eye across the photo and away from the fountain. The fountain is also out of focus ocmpared to the bush at the left.

The second photo puts the fountain in the centre. The vines at left make lines pointing towards it.

Show students slides eleven and twelve. Which is the better photo? Which has a clearer focal point? How do you know?

In the first photo, everything is the same colour, everything is equally in focus and there are lines pointing in every direction.

In the second photo, just the berries and the leaves are in focus. The red berries stand out against the background.

Advance to slide thirteen. Ask: What’s wrong with this picture?

This picture has too many possible focal points (the house and the tree) and extra details like the white parking stops.

Now ask: How could we reframe this same picture to have a clearer focal point? Which parts would we keep and which would we take away?

After students have made some suggestions, show  slides fourteen and fifteen. Highlight that in each case it’s now clear what the photo is about (the house and the tree):

In the first image, the branch leads across the house, drawing our eye to it.

In the second image, we see all of the house and just part of the tree, and the tree is in clearer focus.

If you have already delivered the lesson Introduction to Stop-Motion Animation, ask students: Why is it important to have a clear focal point when you’re making a stop-motion animation?

Anything distracting in the background breaks the “illusion” of the animation. That’s why the instructor in the video recommended having a background and making sure nothing else was visible.