Thanks! Yeah, I work in compositing and understand the tilt shift photography masking effect. However Iâm wondering if there is way to get a more authentic look throughout?
How would I go about achieving a physically accurate camera that I could point at a model. So pointing a blender camera at my 4 inch models and getting realistic results in rendering of what itâd look like if I was actually shooting a 4 inch model.
Yep this. Itâll probably take some experimentation to get the DOF right.
If you track your camera to an empty - you can also set your camera to focus on that point. That way you have infinite control over where your camera is pointing and what itâs focusing on - just by moving an empty set of axes around.
Another trick I have seen that may give your scene a more authentic miniature look is to over saturate your colours slightly in compositor. Miniatures tend to be painted a little more garishly than your typical real scene. I think this trick has been used in the photo above looking at how vibrant the colours are.
I used Blender for some of the VFX in this âMiniature Renderingâ of some footage, including moving shots:
Using Syntheyes, I created a virtual camera and virtual geometry. You can also do this in Blender; I just prefer Syntheyes.
I brought this camera / geometry scene into Blender to render the Z-Depth for the shot. Then I took it the depth into After Effects and created the DOF blur with the Frischluft lens filter. But, again, you can do this in Blender if you prefer.
Some of my favorite bits from the spot are at 0:18 and 0:47
Slightly relevant question: What is the best approach to Anamorphic bokeh (preferably in post)? A squeezed bokeh image alone doesnât seem to do the trick. I tried squeezing prior to applying and then stretching back. It kind of works on a 1.33:1 ratio at least if bokeh is kept small, but fails miserably on the full 2:1 deal. I think I might have better luck if I actually rendered in expanded format first, but I didnât. So basically, whatâs a good way of doing this, in post?
Benu, great video, congrats! Iâll look into the geometry approach.
Burnin, thanks for explaining! Geez, that was so hard to find online haha Thanks for explaining the bokeh effect as well.
So. Aside from scaling and using F-stop, what are some other miniature characteristics? Or does it boil down to texturing after that point. Are there common lens focal lengths or anything useful like that?
Exaggerated colors, some element of time lapse (speeding up the movement a bit, at any rate) â the overall impression Iâve tried to give in these sorts of things is a feeling that what weâre looking at is in fact a miniature. Or, in other words, that what weâre looking isnât real, but some sort of small model that didnât quite get it right, but got impressively close. Color and speed are two aspects that can contribute a lot to this look.
If youâre working with live footage, then wider shots tend to work better, in my opinion. Close-ups, especially with longer lenses, tend to lose the effect.