Lens

The glass that gathers the image, and the first author of its look. Choice of lens is choice of world, before a light is set.

The lens is the first interpretation the image passes through: its field, distortion, flare, falloff and colour are opinions applied before any file exists. The same scene through different glass is a different scene; the lens is an author who works ahead of everyone.

Choice of world, before a light is set is a production truth with a workflow consequence: lens grammar is decided early, wides for immersion, longs for observation, one family of glass for coherence, because it cannot be removed later. Grades adjust; glass testifies. In design the parallel is the typeface: the lens everything else is seen through.