• Adobe After Effects Expressions

  DOF

  Posted by Jack Hilkewich on May 19, 2006 at 7:58 pm

  I have tied the dof of my camera to the z position of a 3d layer. It doesn’t seem to work even though when I change my position of the layer the DOF follows along. It just isn’t in focus. I dragged the little snail like thing from the focus distance of the camera to the z position of the 3d later.

  Can someone shed any light?

  Thanks

  Jack Hilkewich replied 20 years, 2 months ago 2 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Dan Ebberts

  May 19, 2006 at 8:36 pm

  If you want one “target layer” to stay in focus as you move it around, you’d apply and expression like this:

  thisComp.layer(“target layer”).transform.position[2] – position[2]

  to the camera’s Focus Distance. Turn Depth of Field on, and crank the Aperture value up (start with 200).

  The expression assumes that the camera stays at its original position and orientation. It gets more complicated if the camera is flying around.

  Dan
• 

  Jack Hilkewich

  May 23, 2006 at 6:46 pm

  Thanks for your help Dan!

  It seems to be an easy thing, in theory, to do. Just assign a location (layer)to the focus distance and where ever that layer is in 3d space, it’s always in focus. I must be missing something, usually that is the case with me!! I thought that the apeture value would determine the amount(distance) on either side of the target layer that would be in focus too with a falloff at the edges?

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