I feel you are totally missing here when DoF is brought up. Which is as the DoP, you (together with the director) decide on a certain DoF you want to shoot a scene at.    Do you for instance only want the tip of the actress' nose to be in focus or do you want her whole face to be sharp? Do you want the person she is sitting next (imagine you are shooting down the bar, not straight on) to to be totally blown out of focus and not clear (you might), or do you want her to be out focus but