Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Vegas 5, a little out of my budget right now... maybe a little while later....

Dang you guys are quick to bash. The purpose of the blur was an attemp to pull the eye to the talking heads in the back ground. The room was tiny, it was a conference room. My lights weren't bright enough and my back light kept getting in the shot. It was too tall for the table. But I losely used the rule of thirds.... Rulez are for pushing to edge and eventually breaking!

If fact I kinda like the composition of this shot. It looks very sweet to me, but only lasts a few seconds. I got comp crazy on this one.

I aggree about the blur not being linear through out the picture but who cares. I was not going for realism here, hell I shot in 24pa. I was just trying to make the footage look less like something you see on the news by adding DOF.

Here are some more baby snaps. So you guys can get your bash in. ;D

Make me better!
comp1.jpg
comp2.jpg

comp3.jpg
comp4.jpg

comp5.jpg


See I went comp crazy, this interview is like 6 mins long and maybe shorter. Guy in gray asks 4 questions, guy in white answers. Guy on the camera falls asleep at the helm...... uh, did I say that out loud. ;D

Na na na na na na Bash Man! ;D

Bash away folks. Tell how bad my comps are and what I can do better next time. I know this is the wrong place for the bashing but to keep things in line give me more vegas tips on how to spuce this up. :-*
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Keep in mind this is framed for TV 4:3. It will be on KET maybe. Maybe KET2. So put your 10% action and 20% title blinders on. ::)
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

The words under "Johnny Belcher" may well be outside title safe.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

My only suggestion would be to go in closer in all those shots. I used to do the same thing you did, liked lots of room around the subject so you could get a feel of their surroundings, gave them all lots of headroom, etc. But I've since learned going in tighter is so much better for interviews. It hurt the first time but the results spoke so much louder I never looked back. Don't be afraid to get just a headshot or to give them haircuts, especially for anything important/moving/intimate. I'd say at the very least have them fill 2/3rds the screen.

Ok, I lied ;D I have another suggestion. Color correct to warm up the images, the brick wall in the background is sickly pale and makes it look dreary (unless of course that's the mood you want).

Please don't take any of this as a bash, just trying to pass on some of my experience which may or may not be worth much ;)
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Actually SirAllen those are very constructive and I agree with those takes.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Yeah! I will meet you outside your house in five minutes. :P ;D

Ha!
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Ok, I admit it, I suck. But hey, I am trying. Thanks for the tips. Anybody got any more. :)
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

heres one.. stop thinking you suck. you dont.. so be positive, and always ready to learn. cause theres no end to learning :)
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

[quote author=iamloser link=board=Vegas;num=1082688633;start=25#29 date=04/30/04 at 10:15:34]heres one.. stop thinking you suck. you dont.. so be positive. . .[/quote]

This coming from a guy that calls himself "iamloser":D
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

..uh, in my homeland.. the word "loser" means "happy". and me and all the other jupiteranians float around on magic clouds, and steal lucky charms from passerby leprichauns.. occasionally i swipe some trix from a rabbit, or some coacoa puffs from an unidentifiable creature thats insanely annoying. :P
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

In Vegas 5 you can use the Bezier mask to fake DOF -- the demo files even have an example to show you exactly how; the demo actual does a fake rack focus.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Yeah the bezier mask is an awsome addition to vegas 5, however the way they did the demo is pretty lame. How on earth can the mug be out of focus whle the whole table top that is sitting on is as sharp as a knife? IF the demo looks slightly odd to you, I guarantee that is the reason, they really should have capture part of the table in that bezier mask in order to make it truely believable.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

I agree with that -- but it's a good demonstration of how to do it, even if you'd mask it differently.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Yeah, I'm really just nitpicking. I just got my upgrade of Vegas5+DVD2 and it has to be the best $199 I've spent in a while. The tutorials are great for exploring all the new features in Vegas5. Just got it wednesday so I havn't made a dvd with DVDA2 but I love the new end actions, seems now I can completely leave Encore DVD behind and be a full fledged VEgas and DVDA user. :)
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Just a quick question (sort of to do with the theory of shooting...) It looks to me as though the angles of both subjects are the same, as in the shots have been taken from the right hand side of each subject - both their right hands are in the left side of the shot. Is that normal? I thought that for these kind of situations it is best to keep the angles opposite - ie shoot from the same side of the table...

I may wildly off and would appreciate any guidance in the steep learning curve....

Thanks in advance,

Paul.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

Ah, crossing the axis. One of the "rules."

In my opinion, it's only an issue if it looks unnatural or if it's confusing. As long as the audience isn't put off kilter, you should be fine.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

The rule that David refers to is also called "crossing the line".

The idea is that when filming a conversation or interaction between two subjects, you should draw a line between them, and keep the camera on one side of that line. You can move fairly freely to any point on that side of the line, but you cannot cross the line without causing a jarring discontinuity in the shot.

If you must cross the line, there are a few sanctioned ways: either do so during a camera move, so we-the-audience cross the line with you, or you can sometimes cover a line cross if you cut on a specific action -- i.e., if one guy punches the other guy, make the cut happen while the fist is still flying.

Crossing the line is a valuable technique to use if you're deliberately trying to introduce a sense of confusion and uneasiness in your scene. But unless you want that effect, it's best to not cross it.
 
Re: Trying to blur background in vegas - Fake DOF

It is used nicely to 'confuse' or 'show disorientation'. Example...

SIGNS

Mel and Jauquin are running through the cornhusks looking for the children in the opening scene of the film. Camera trucks along on their LEFT as they push past the tall stalks of corn. Until the next shot....

The camera is now on their right as they burst out of the corn and into an 'aisle' of clearance. As they bust out they turn towards the camera.....

It's a nice use of the breaking the rule. Like I always say, undertsanding the rules and how they arok allows you to manipulate and omsetimes even break them to your advantage!
 
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