I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but I'm
not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not searching
for the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in movies
occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject and
the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only see
the main subject.

What is this called, anyone know? Once I know what this is called,
I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or two on the net on how to create this
effect.

Thanks.

"Traveller" wrote in message
...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but I'm
not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not searching
for the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in movies
occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject and
the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only see
the main subject.

What is this called, anyone know? Once I know what this is called,
I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or two on the net on how to create this
effect.

Thanks.
Quick easy way put a cheap uv sky filter on your camera and smear some
Vaseline around the edge,Not a lot just enough to get the effect you want

"Traveller" wrote ...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas
Video 4 manual but I'm not getting any results. I know
it must be because I'm not searching for the right thing.
It's something you see a on TV or in movies occasionally,
when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the
subject and the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that
we really only see the main subject.

What is this called, anyone know?

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial
or two on the net on how to create this effect.

You may be looking in the wrong place. It is produced in
the camera while shooting. You will notice that when
shooting in low light with the lens open wide, focus is
much more critical. But with lots of light and the lens
stopped down, you have a very large depth of focus.
It is rather commonplace to put neutral density filters
over the lens just so the photographer can use a larger
apeture to reduce the depth of field.

You may be able to do it in post (in editing), but once
you image has been reduced to 2-dimensions, you will
have to manually trace around the part you want to be in
focus, and the part out of focus. That is why likely 99.9%
of people do this in the camera and NOT in post.

I see it more than "occasionally" in TV/movies. If it is
done right you don't notice it, but it directs your attention
to the desired part of the image. Just because we can do
more and more things through the magic of computers in
post-production doesn't mean that *everything* is done
in post.

You're bang on with that Richard!

Not specifically depth-of-field related but in a lot of cases, the time it
takes to "fix" something using technical gee-whizzery is greater than the
time it takes to go re-do the original source. (be it still photos, video,
whatever)

There was a site around where someone built a "go-between" - some kind of
bellows I think - for a DVX100 to allow for tighter depth of field. The site
had some sample movies that were fantastic demos.

I see a commercial tool: http://tinyurl.com/5adpa

I recall the "jury rigged" one though - just can't find the site.
Anyone have that?

C.



"Richard Crowley" wrote in message
...
"Traveller" wrote ...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but I'm
not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not searching for
the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in movies
occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject and
the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only see the
main subject.

What is this called, anyone know?

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or two on
the net on how to create this effect.

You may be looking in the wrong place. It is produced in
the camera while shooting. You will notice that when
shooting in low light with the lens open wide, focus is
much more critical. But with lots of light and the lens
stopped down, you have a very large depth of focus.
It is rather commonplace to put neutral density filters
over the lens just so the photographer can use a larger
apeture to reduce the depth of field.

You may be able to do it in post (in editing), but once
you image has been reduced to 2-dimensions, you will
have to manually trace around the part you want to be in
focus, and the part out of focus. That is why likely 99.9%
of people do this in the camera and NOT in post.

I see it more than "occasionally" in TV/movies. If it is
done right you don't notice it, but it directs your attention
to the desired part of the image. Just because we can do
more and more things through the magic of computers in
post-production doesn't mean that *everything* is done
in post.

"Traveller" wrote in message
...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but I'm
not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not searching
for the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in movies
occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject and
the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only see
the main subject.

What is this called, anyone know? Once I know what this is called,
I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or two on the net on how to create this
effect.

Here´s how Premiere can be used to tackle this. Have a look around Vegas
controls / menus to see if its do-able.
http://www.glacierlily.com/premiere/softlens.html
Rob


Thanks.

"Bill G" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 07:41:47 -0700, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

"Traveller" wrote ...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas
Video 4 manual but I'm not getting any results. I know
it must be because I'm not searching for the right thing.
It's something you see a on TV or in movies occasionally,
when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the
subject and the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that
we really only see the main subject.

What is this called, anyone know?

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial
or two on the net on how to create this effect.

You may be looking in the wrong place. It is produced in
the camera while shooting. You will notice that when
shooting in low light with the lens open wide, focus is
much more critical. But with lots of light and the lens
stopped down, you have a very large depth of focus.
It is rather commonplace to put neutral density filters
over the lens just so the photographer can use a larger
apeture to reduce the depth of field.

You may be able to do it in post (in editing), but once
you image has been reduced to 2-dimensions, you will
have to manually trace around the part you want to be in
focus, and the part out of focus. That is why likely 99.9%
of people do this in the camera and NOT in post.

I see it more than "occasionally" in TV/movies. If it is
done right you don't notice it, but it directs your attention
to the desired part of the image. Just because we can do
more and more things through the magic of computers in
post-production doesn't mean that *everything* is done
in post.

I agree with what you're saying, but I think you may have missed the
point of the question. In my mind anyway, the OP seemed to be asking
for that effect you see on the news programs where a guy is skiing on
top of an avalanche and someone is using a camcorder from the other
side of the valley, so the guy is just a tiny black speck. To keep him
visible to us, the TV viewers, they blur or darken everything except a
circular area that includes the subject in order to make sure our eyes
don't stray elsewhere. There's no way to do that at the time of the
shooting, it's 100% done in post, because these are amateur videos
shot with camcorders on the spur of the moment.

--
Bill

Yes there is or was . A Plastic holder that fits over the lens and has a 7
blade iris that can be stopped down in the same way as the Aperture . it
causes a darkened unsharp vignation around the centre area of the lens.
Lots of soft focus filters with clear centre spots in the Cokin range too

In message , Richard Crowley
writes
"Traveller" wrote ...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but
I'm not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not
searching for the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in
movies occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject
and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject
and the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only
see the main subject.
What is this called, anyone know?

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or
two on the net on how to create this effect.

You may be looking in the wrong place. It is produced in
the camera while shooting. You will notice that when
shooting in low light with the lens open wide, focus is
much more critical. But with lots of light and the lens
stopped down, you have a very large depth of focus.
It is rather commonplace to put neutral density filters
over the lens just so the photographer can use a larger
apeture to reduce the depth of field.

Its also worth mentioning that the depth of field is smaller at tele
zoom settings (keeping the subject framing the same - i.e. Moving
further away from the subject).
--
Tony Morgan
http://www.camcord.info

In message , Trev
writes

Snipped....

I agree with what you're saying, but I think you may have missed the
point of the question. In my mind anyway, the OP seemed to be asking
for that effect you see on the news programs where a guy is skiing on
top of an avalanche and someone is using a camcorder from the other
side of the valley, so the guy is just a tiny black speck. To keep him
visible to us, the TV viewers, they blur or darken everything except a
circular area that includes the subject in order to make sure our eyes
don't stray elsewhere. There's no way to do that at the time of the
shooting, it's 100% done in post, because these are amateur videos
shot with camcorders on the spur of the moment.

--
Bill

Yes there is or was . A Plastic holder that fits over the lens and has
a 7 blade iris that can be stopped down in the same way as the Aperture
. it causes a darkened unsharp vignation around the centre area of the
lens. Lots of soft focus filters with clear centre spots in the Cokin
range too

I'd perhaps add that the Cokin is the best solution, since the "spot"
can be moved away from the centre - especially as most camcorders have a
37mm or 30mm lens outer size. You can also change the amount of
softening by varying the tele/WA setting in conjunction with moving to
keep the framing the same.

--
Tony Morgan
http://www.camcord.info

"Richard Crowley" wrote in message
...
"Traveller" wrote ...
I've done some online searching and in my Vegas Video 4 manual but I'm
not getting any results. I know it must be because I'm not searching for
the right thing. It's something you see a on TV or in movies
occasionally, when the camera has a shot of the main subject and lots
of surrounding people, etc., but the camera focuses on the subject and
the rest of the screen goes out of focus so that we really only see the
main subject.

What is this called, anyone know?

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial or two on
the net on how to create this effect.

You may be looking in the wrong place. It is produced in
the camera while shooting. You will notice that when
shooting in low light with the lens open wide, focus is
much more critical. But with lots of light and the lens
stopped down, you have a very large depth of focus.
It is rather commonplace to put neutral density filters
over the lens just so the photographer can use a larger
apeture to reduce the depth of field.

You may be able to do it in post (in editing), but once
you image has been reduced to 2-dimensions, you will
have to manually trace around the part you want to be in
focus, and the part out of focus. That is why likely 99.9%
of people do this in the camera and NOT in post.

I see it more than "occasionally" in TV/movies. If it is
done right you don't notice it, but it directs your attention
to the desired part of the image. Just because we can do
more and more things through the magic of computers in
post-production doesn't mean that *everything* is done
in post.

Depth of field effects will not isolate a subject that is at a similar
distance from camera as the parts you want to isolate it from, of course.
Regardless of this, I get the impression that the OP has already got his
material and wants to fix his problem. I would avoid "manually tracing
around the subject" at all costs unless making a Sci Fi scene or something
along those lines!

Rob

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 07:41:47 -0700, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

Depth-of-field or depth-of-focus.

Once I know what this is called, I'm sure I'll find a tutorial
or two on the net on how to create this effect.

I see it more than "occasionally" in TV/movies. If it is
done right you don't notice it, but it directs your attention
to the desired part of the image.

In fact it's *very* apparent, almost over-used in the new labour TV ad
errr I mean "party broadcast" ;-)

Just because we can do
more and more things through the magic of computers in
post-production doesn't mean that *everything* is done
in post.

Cheers - Neil