Silly DOF idea -

[meddesigner]

I was thinking of trying this idea and it might be just too silly and/or time consuming to attempt but it might be good to create a fake DOF effect with video in general.

Basic concept:
1. Shoot a clean plate
2. Shoot your video
3. Edit your video
4. Bring edited video in to compositor (Combustion, Shake, AE)
5. Bring Clean plate into compositor
6. Apply a blur of some sort to the clean plate to create the simulated DOF effect.
7. Mask the edited version to remove the BG (simple garbage mask or a complex Roto or somewhere in between)
8. Combine the two

The biggest problem I see is how to archive the proper point of where things would go soft and blurry. This technique would put the entire BG out of focus which would not really work.

Any thoughts or is it just silly and stupid?

Rich in Nashville

[GenJerDan]

Lot of work, but it would work just fine in some/many circumstances.

I don't think I'd try it with a static shot, though....the viewer would have time to see the trickery. But a dolly/pan on someone walking....blurring the background artificially would work. The viewer would be concentrating on the foreground.

Of course, a moving shot would be harder to mask...so...

Dan

[dakotapod]

The biggest problem I see is how to archive the proper point of where things would go soft and blurry.

I think that would be the primary dilemma [on top of the intense work]. If the foreground is clean and the background is blurry with no transition between the two it may look just like it is, a composite. There needs to be a mild blend between the two. Work for some shots but look ultra fake on others. You could try a few experiments with single images in Photoshop to see the look. I think the work load would be crippling.

[HorseFilms]

Yeah, I'd rather do it the old fashioned way. I'm lazy that way.