Focus Pull

What this is about

Cinema focus is not autofocus; it is a craft position. The 1st AC — the focus puller — measures distances in rehearsal, sets marks on the follow focus, and during the take moves sharpness with the actor, often without looking through the lens. Every blocking change invalidates marks, which is why last-minute staging changes cost takes. A missed pull is unusable footage discovered in dailies, so shallow setups get rehearsals and patience budgeted for them.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

Where this differs from the general case:

• Pulls are measured, not guessed: tape marks, distance rehearsal and repeatable actor blocking are the real tools.
• Autofocus is entering cine work but hands off creative timing — when sharpness lands is a storytelling beat.
• The wider the aperture and the longer the lens, the smaller the tolerance and the higher the retake risk.

With TillyGen

TillyGen's shot list flags shallow, long-lens moves as high-focus-risk setups, so the schedule reserves rehearsal time where pulls are hardest.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.