R - Rack Focus

A Rack Focus occurs when the Camera Operator, or a dedicated professional Focus Puller who is assigned only to dialing the focus on the lens, turns the dial of their focus, physically, which causes the lens to force the viewer’s eye to travel to a new image which becomes in focus. An example would be to show something in the background (deep) or the foreground of the shot (shallow), and then the focus shifts to the new thing.

The technique is use to bring attention to something behind, or in front, in the same frame. It can be used to show the audience something the character might not be aware of, or sometimes when a character realizes something is in front of, or behind them. The rack focus can be used in comedy and also in drama. Sometimes it’s subtle - like the sidewalk crowd shot of Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, or 2006’s The Host, specifically the hospital corridor scene. Other times it can be used in dialogue between two people without the need for an edit point.

The roll of the focus can also be called ‘selective focusing’ a ‘rack’ or a ‘pull focus’, depending on the Director of Photography or whom ever calls the shot.

You've captured their STUNT DOUBLES

Daenerys stunt double Rosie Mac poses with her fellow stand-ins

The Goonies, Then and Now

In order, left to right:

Chunk, Jeff Cohen, is an entertainment attorney in LA.

Mikey Walsh, Sean Astin, was a featured player in Stranger Things Season 2 and a tiny trilogy called Lord of the Rings.

Mouth, Corey Feldman, grew up to be a teen idol in the 80’s. He continues his career as a singer and songwriter.

Data, Jonathan Key Huy Quan, also recognizable from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, works behind the scenes as a stunt coordinator and stunt rigger.

Q For Q Rating

Q Rating, or Q Score, refers to an advertising research rating that gauges how easily a celebrity is recognized -- and how well the celebrity is liked.

The positive Q Score is calculated by counting how many respondents answered A (one of my favorites) divided by the number of respondents answering A (one of my favorites) through F (Never heard of), and calculating the percentage. Yes, there’s math involved.

The Q Rating is a measurement of the familiarity and appeal of a brand, celebrity, company, or entertainment product in the United States. The higher the Q Score, the more highly regarded the item or person.

The highest rated traditional stars ranked by the 13  to 17-year-old demographic gave Tom Hanks a positive Q Score of 46 and Beyonce ranked 32.

According to Variety, “top YouTubers are on par with some high-profile traditional celebrities; Pentatonix, for instance, has the same Q Score numbers as recent Oscar winner Brie Larson.”

Q Scores and other variants are primarily used by the advertising, marketing, media, and public relations industries.

Post Credit Sequence

A Post Credit Sequence can be a throwaway scene, out-takes or, as fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will quickly tell you, they can be an important epilogue that happens during or after the end credits have finished rolling. Sometimes both.

It’s used as a bonus for audience members who stick around to read all the professionals who helped create the movie they just watched.

And, it’s also a great way to generate word of mouth about the bonus scene that creates important ‘buzz.’

Great examples are The Muppet Movie (1979) Airplane (1980), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), many of the PIXAR movies, Napoleon Dynamite (2004), and Captain Marvel (2019).

Feel free to let us know which Post Credit Sequence was your all-time favorite!