DOF in AE?
- Thread starter reflex
- Start date
MattC
Veteran
Re: DOF in AE?
You know I was just going to post asking the same thing. I did some very rough mock-ups in photoshop using masks and filters (blurs) and that seems to be the way to go. I'm not sure how to mask a moving subject, however (even though in most cases the only thing moving in my scene is the subjects head - normal talking movement).
I think I could do this fairly realistically in photoshop, but I'd rather not have to hand do 24 fps in photoshop. Any suggestions people?
Matt
You know I was just going to post asking the same thing. I did some very rough mock-ups in photoshop using masks and filters (blurs) and that seems to be the way to go. I'm not sure how to mask a moving subject, however (even though in most cases the only thing moving in my scene is the subjects head - normal talking movement).
I think I could do this fairly realistically in photoshop, but I'd rather not have to hand do 24 fps in photoshop. Any suggestions people?
Matt
Caveman
Well-known member
Re: DOF in AE?
Yep,
Rotoscoping. It can be your worst enemy and your best friend at the same time. Doing it is time consuming but the rewards are plentiful. AE has some great tools for animating masks .. ie.. bezier masks etc. I think faking the depth of field thing is pretty easy because usually the focus is on closeup where there is minimal movement. You can feather the mask however much you like and this helps with only subtle movements. If it is a steady consistent move you can keyframe the beginning and the end and let AE interpolate the inbetweens, it works sometimes.
;D CAVEMAN
Yep,
Rotoscoping. It can be your worst enemy and your best friend at the same time. Doing it is time consuming but the rewards are plentiful. AE has some great tools for animating masks .. ie.. bezier masks etc. I think faking the depth of field thing is pretty easy because usually the focus is on closeup where there is minimal movement. You can feather the mask however much you like and this helps with only subtle movements. If it is a steady consistent move you can keyframe the beginning and the end and let AE interpolate the inbetweens, it works sometimes.
;D CAVEMAN
ThrillMedia
Active member
Re: DOF in AE?
Yeah! Just load your footage into AE and mask away. It is reasonably easy to do on talking head footage but can be much more time consuming with other footage. You will want to start with a decent amount of bezier controls (not too many, no reason to make it too hard on yourself) specifically noticing "tight turn areas" such as around the ear or neck and collar area. Hopefully your talent is looking more towards you than sideways. It just takes a little practice and patience. I would just start with a practice session until you get the hang of masking. I try to keyframe the mask every 10 frames or so(shift+page down) and then add extra keyframes when there is a quick movement such as a head nod. You will want to feather the mask a bit and of course blur your background layer to get the DOF.
Hope that makes sense!
Curtis
Yeah! Just load your footage into AE and mask away. It is reasonably easy to do on talking head footage but can be much more time consuming with other footage. You will want to start with a decent amount of bezier controls (not too many, no reason to make it too hard on yourself) specifically noticing "tight turn areas" such as around the ear or neck and collar area. Hopefully your talent is looking more towards you than sideways. It just takes a little practice and patience. I would just start with a practice session until you get the hang of masking. I try to keyframe the mask every 10 frames or so(shift+page down) and then add extra keyframes when there is a quick movement such as a head nod. You will want to feather the mask a bit and of course blur your background layer to get the DOF.
Hope that makes sense!
Curtis
MattC
Veteran
Re: DOF in AE?
Also, I assume if I bring a full resolution quicktime clip into ae, work on it there and then import it back into FCP (using animation codec) that I won't lose any resolution. Is this correct?
Oh yeah, one other thing, would you do your color correction and grading after you've done this or before?
Thanks!
Matt
Also, I assume if I bring a full resolution quicktime clip into ae, work on it there and then import it back into FCP (using animation codec) that I won't lose any resolution. Is this correct?
Oh yeah, one other thing, would you do your color correction and grading after you've done this or before?
Thanks!
Matt
BLUESPIDER
DVXuser Ninja
Re: DOF in AE?
[quote author=MattC link=board=AE;num=1109641125;start=0#5 date=03/01/05 at 14:59:39]
Oh yeah, one other thing, would you do your color correction and grading after you've done this or before?
[/quote]
Color grading should be apllied very last.
[quote author=MattC link=board=AE;num=1109641125;start=0#5 date=03/01/05 at 14:59:39]
Oh yeah, one other thing, would you do your color correction and grading after you've done this or before?
[/quote]
Color grading should be apllied very last.
MattC
Veteran
Re: DOF in AE?
Hmmmm.... Can do it in a photo, the question is can we do it in video. OR how can we automate the photo process as much as possible so it doesn't take a year to do...
http://www.osborn.bz/dof/
Common people, work with me here...
Hmmmm.... Can do it in a photo, the question is can we do it in video. OR how can we automate the photo process as much as possible so it doesn't take a year to do...
http://www.osborn.bz/dof/
Common people, work with me here...
BLUESPIDER
DVXuser Ninja
Re: DOF in AE?
okay, I've done stuff like this before only because at the time we didn't have time to remove the copyrighted signs (ex: budwiser, etc). So I had to go into AE and pain stakingly masked (rotoscope) every single frame of that sequence. It was 15secs long. Sounds short but when your rotoscoping the actor, its a long and pain in the ass process. But the end results are very rewarding when its done right. Now the subject and everything else behind the subject is out of focused. However, there is a plugin called Puffin Image Lounge "True Camera Rack Focus" that helps simulate the shallow DOF look. I haven't really had a chance to play with this but I'm sure there's a demo for you to download. That might be another solution.
The true way is to use lenses or wait till Redrock releases his micro35.
okay, I've done stuff like this before only because at the time we didn't have time to remove the copyrighted signs (ex: budwiser, etc). So I had to go into AE and pain stakingly masked (rotoscope) every single frame of that sequence. It was 15secs long. Sounds short but when your rotoscoping the actor, its a long and pain in the ass process. But the end results are very rewarding when its done right. Now the subject and everything else behind the subject is out of focused. However, there is a plugin called Puffin Image Lounge "True Camera Rack Focus" that helps simulate the shallow DOF look. I haven't really had a chance to play with this but I'm sure there's a demo for you to download. That might be another solution.
The true way is to use lenses or wait till Redrock releases his micro35.
reflex
Well-known member
Re: DOF in AE?
I normally dont rotoscope in AE but it's probably better that way...takes less time i imagine; but for me it depends on the project.
I have premeire pro and what i can do is, export the footage as a filmstrip, then import that into photoshop, then do whatever i need to do , and then reimport that filmstrip back into premiere.
That works well. I was just asking about a plugin that would 'shallow' up things just a tad.
I normally dont rotoscope in AE but it's probably better that way...takes less time i imagine; but for me it depends on the project.
I have premeire pro and what i can do is, export the footage as a filmstrip, then import that into photoshop, then do whatever i need to do , and then reimport that filmstrip back into premiere.
That works well. I was just asking about a plugin that would 'shallow' up things just a tad.
MattC
Veteran
Re: DOF in AE?
I can do the same thing with FCP. I have found a number of plugins for AE that do create camera realistic DOF, however these all seem to be for animation and not video. The reason for this (I think) is because in video there is no "Z AXIS" to define depth. No I suppose you could import your footage into AE and then create a 3D map for applying the filter, but now you're getting into as much if not more work than rotoscoping it.
No, I think the way to do this is going to be a combination of working with layers and composits and rotoscoping images. It will be a lot of work, but I think the results will be worth it.
Matt
I can do the same thing with FCP. I have found a number of plugins for AE that do create camera realistic DOF, however these all seem to be for animation and not video. The reason for this (I think) is because in video there is no "Z AXIS" to define depth. No I suppose you could import your footage into AE and then create a 3D map for applying the filter, but now you're getting into as much if not more work than rotoscoping it.
No, I think the way to do this is going to be a combination of working with layers and composits and rotoscoping images. It will be a lot of work, but I think the results will be worth it.
Matt