# How do named cinematographers describe choosing wide versus long lenses (and where to put the camera) for intimacy or other story reasons, and where do they disagree?

- id: art_01M5MSY0ZY9G2PPAENVQ7KMQ61
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T02 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T16:36:31.351Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MSY0ZY9G2PPAENVQ7KMQ61

Accounts disagree on which lens gives intimacy. Ben Richardson, ASC prefers long-lens close-ups and generally dislikes wide lenses up close, while using 50-65 mm for intimate close-ups on one series. Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC (as quoted by ASC and ARRI) described the lenses on The Revenant as very wide and close to the actors, 'extremely visceral', to show environment and emotion together. Lidia Nikonova says longer lenses created intimacy on Night Nurse, and Alan Caso, ASC describes both a wide-and-close option and a long-lens shallow option depending on the scene's emotional content. All statements are per speaker, for a specific project; none is a universal rule.

Accounts disagree on which lens gives intimacy. Ben Richardson, ASC prefers long-lens close-ups and generally dislikes wide lenses up close, while using 50-65 mm for intimate close-ups on one series. Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC (as quoted by ASC and ARRI) described the lenses on The Revenant as very wide and close to the actors, 'extremely visceral', to show environment and emotion together. Lidia Nikonova says longer lenses created intimacy on Night Nurse, and Alan Caso, ASC describes both a wide-and-close option and a long-lens shallow option depending on the scene's emotional content. All statements are per speaker, for a specific project; none is a universal rule.

Curator qualifications: 10 of 10 excerpts present (live pages; bytes differ from producer pins, passages present). All statements are attributed per speaker and project; Lubezki statements are quotations relayed by ASC and ARRI (ARRI quoting ScreenDaily and AC).

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.leitz-cine.com/interview/ben-richardson-asc",
      "note": "Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://theasc.com/?p=38064",
      "note": "Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.arri.com/news-en/alexa-xt-and-alexa-65-on-the-revenant-",
      "note": "Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://theasc.com/article/sundance-2026-cinematography/",
      "note": "Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://theasc.com/post/shot-craft/fresh-perspectives/",
      "note": "Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live)"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Accounts disagree on which lens gives intimacy. Ben Richardson, ASC prefers long-lens close-ups and generally dislikes wide lenses up close, while using 50-65 mm for intimate close-ups on one series. Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC (as quoted by ASC and ARRI) described the lenses on The Revenant as very wide and close to the actors, 'extremely visceral', to show environment and emotion together. Lidia Nikonova says longer lenses created intimacy on Night Nurse, and Alan Caso, ASC describes both a wide-and-close option and a long-lens shallow option depending on the scene's emotional content. All statements are per speaker, for a specific project; none is a universal rule. · locator: Leitz Cine interview Ben Richardson ASC (live); theasc.com ?p=38064 (Lubezki quote, live); ARRI Revenant news page (live); ASC Sundance 2026 cinematography (live); ASC Shot Craft fresh perspectives (live) · source: https://www.leitz-cine.com/interview/ben-richardson-asc

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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