MovieChat Forums > My Fair Lady (1964) Discussion > Use of blur

Use of blur

posted 9 years ago by Frances_Kubelik
8 replies | jump to latest

This film is directed by Cukor, but I noticed that he and Robert Wise use the same blur effect (Wise in West Side Story three years before). Does anybody know if this effect was a trend back then?

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I'm not bad, I was drawn that way

[–] almostfm-1 9 years ago

It was a "thing" long before that. (I'm assuming you're talking about "Just you wait", in MFL, where the scene is actually playing in her mind). It's a common way to separate reality from fantasy in film.

Now, if you're talking about "soft focus", that goes back to the days of silent films. When shooting the pretty girl, a slightly out of focus shot makes any wrinkles or lines disappear, and gives her sort of an ethereal quality

[–] MightyTiki 9 years ago

A technique that "artsy" still photographers sometimes use is to smear petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) on the lens in order to do a selective "blur" in-camera without having to modify the photograph in post.

This technique was most likely used in My Fair Lady and West Side Story since area of focus (center frame) remains the same throughout the "fantasy/blurred" sequence.

I am not aware of any post production film process that could have achieved the same effect using analog film (pre-computer video editing).

"Toto, I've [got] a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

[–] almostfm-1 9 years ago

You're right about the use of a thin layer of Vaseline to "selectively" change the focus for part of the scene, and that's probably how it was done in the movies you mentioned.

With still photography, you can get sort of the same sort of effect with a high (numerically low) f-stop and making sure you're well focused on your subject. It's a problem with movie filming, because it causes problems trying to match different shots for exposure, color, etc.

[–] MightyTiki 9 years ago

The easiest way to achieve a blurred background is to have your subject relatively close to the camera (both still and video) and shoot wide open, allowing for the maximum aperture that the lens will go.

This is not the same technique used in My Fair Lady or West Side Story. The subjects (actors and actresses) were within close proximity to the background and did not allow for enough separation. The camera's iris was stopped down in order to keep everything within the focal plane.

"Toto, I've [got] a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

[–] wwestar 8 years ago

The same effect is used on Ryan's Daughter.

[–] atomicstuffing 8 years ago

It was also used in Doctor Zhivago (1965).

I think the 1970s would change the technology a little (but going for the same effect of isolating and emphasizing certain things).

I don't know the exact name of the camera technology (some new type of telephoto lens?) but you'll notice its usage becoming common in 1970s films, where the foreground object or character is in focus, and everything around them is very hazy. It also looks as if we are zoomed in a great deal. This effect can give either a dreamy or realistic quality to the shot as well (Malick's Days of Heaven and Spielberg's early movies).

[–] Blueghost 8 years ago

What almostfm-1 said. I think one of the production team on the commentary protested its use, but it was a known technique to create dream or imaginary sequences to clue in the audience that in terms of what was happening in the film's reality was in fact a fantasy. A fantasy within a fantasy, so to speak.

[–] wwestar 8 years ago

They rubbed Vaseline on the lens.