How do I maintain focus with a manual lens while filming?

It really depends. If you're filming hand held, or on a tripod, then you just need a little practice. If you're filming on a steadicam or a stabilizer, you may need someone else to rack focus for you. One thing that really helps is to use a smaller aperture, and therefore a deeper depth of field. This makes nailing focus a lot easier.
 
Either set & forget (focus to infinity) or set to a focal length and try to stay that same distance the entire time. You can also try to have an aperture that isn't very wide, so higher like f 8 or f11 ish.
 
Most of the time, you will be able to set your focus on a shot and you wont have to change it, unless you're filming a long line on a tripod. For follow cams, just set your fstop to 11 or 16, focus to infinity (or just before infinity) and dont get closer than 3-4ft of your subject while following and youre good to go.
 
13880045:eheath said:
Most of the time, you will be able to set your focus on a shot and you wont have to change it, unless you're filming a long line on a tripod. For follow cams, just set your fstop to 11 or 16, focus to infinity (or just before infinity) and dont get closer than 3-4ft of your subject while following and youre good to go.
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wait so what if you're filming a more skateboard esque shot. like where you get closer to the feature at the end? (not sure what its actually called)
 
13880176:hxv said:
wait so what if you're filming a more skateboard esque shot. like where you get closer to the feature at the end? (not sure what its actually called)
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if you want the rail in focus just pull focus to the rail at the end
 
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