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Blur Effect Pre/Post? Subject Still/Moving? — For CAMCORDER/VIDEO (as opposed to Still photos)?
So I’ve often seen the blur effect (I think they call it Focus) in movies and really like it .. for example when the Bad Guy is seated alone and his Right Hand Man comes in and is image is first blurred, then cleared (or the reverse) while the Bad Guy himself stays clear all through, but kind of ‘sees’ his man through the corner of his eye as blurring/clearing.
OK, I have a Sony Nex Vg20, and I’m fairly new to video stuff. Most tutorials on this are on STILL Photos, but I needed info on how to set my cam (best settings/considerations)to do it WHILE SHOOTING SCENE, and situations where the subject (Bad Guy/His Man here) is STABLE or when MOVING while blurred….
OR should I even bother? (i.e. Can it be done as an After Effect in Post editing) … and what are the Pros & Cons of doing it pre or post if applicable?
Altitude is not all the problem. Taking steps is more of it.
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2 Replies
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This is called a rack focus, and it’s best done as an in-camera effect. When doing a rack focus, a production will use a shallow depth of field [link] on the camera, meaning that only objects a specific distance from the camera will be in focus. A dedicated operator called a focus puller [link] adjusts the focus on the camera and does nothing else.
Rack focuses in post are possible with depth of field plugins, but they are far less realistic that rack focuses done in-camera, because the post effect working with in-focus imagery cannot have all the information it would need (transparent objects, reflections, or what’s behind obscuring foreground objects — think about shooting through a screen door or a fence).
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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Thanks much bro. I can’t thank enough. So hard to get answers in this place, can’t say why?
Altitude is not all the problem. Taking steps is more of it.
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