Depth of Field video

[RabidJester]

I've put together a short video showing off a technique to create depth of field changes.

Requires DivX codec, approx. 2.5mb

Right Click and Save
http://www.laniercreative.com/zeropoint/final2.avi

I'd appreciate any comments.

 

[nagual678]

it's.. fine.

 

[RabidJester]

Thanks.

 

[PenaE]

Looks awesome. It's a bit short though..

 

[RabidJester]

Looks awesome. It's a bit short though..

Yeah, it's just an example.

 

[Acert93]

Nice Technique!

I hope you setup a site with a very nice, detailed, step by step guide to making movies in HL2

 

[Cypher19]

III... think you should just wait until a high-end graphics mod comes out so that post-processing effects like DOF blur and motion blur can be done on-the-fly on the video card...

I can't imagine how much work you must've done to make the blur effect, but it would fall completely flat if you didn't want to restrict the shots you can take.

 

[RabidJester]

I've already been told by Valve that DOF isn't capable within the engine, just FOV, which is in the demo editor.

I just did it for a challenge. The hard part was actually getting the characters to do what I want. The post processing was the easy part.

 

[kaf11]

very nice.

 

[WhiteZero]

Woah, very cool effect.

 

[Duracell]

That rocks, nice work

 

[Asus]

Slick. Nice work.
Tomb Raider had DOF. I remember it looked pretty neat although I never played it.

 

[RabidJester]

Even an effect like that, to blur away things distance, wouldn't suit every instance. The video I did was to illustrate a specific shot that I wouldn't be able to replicate.

The real question is, what to do next?

 

[StardogChampion]

EDIT: Nevermind!

 

[urban]

get a better scene to apply it too

 

[RabidJester]

get a better scene to apply it too

What was wrong with the one I did?

 

[Gemini][]

The effect is great (perhaps overdone by the end of the clip; the bottle area is too blurry).
Congratulations!

 

[RabidJester]

I upped it a little more to make the effect more distinct, but I wasn't sure I liked it better that way.

 

[Cypher19]

I've already been told by Valve that DOF isn't capable within the engine, just FOV, which is in the demo editor.

I just did it for a challenge. The hard part was actually getting the characters to do what I want. The post processing was the easy part.

Whaaaat? Surely the Source engine can support the combination of various render to textures and post-processing pixel shaders required for DOF blur!

 

[Bicka]

The real question is, what to do next?

If your into camera effects then I'd suggest something a little more fun

http://www.dragoncave.freeserve.co.uk/LOTR camera trick.jpg

Maybe Alyx sitting next to a wee hobbity Gman?

Nearly forgot the explaination*

"the old trick of forced perspective, (positioning one actor farther away from the camera than the other), used in Hollywood for years. “The problem with forced perspective… is that traditionally you could not move the camera. If you move the camera, the parallax will give away the gag."

 

[jacen]

the depth transition doesnt seem smooth enought
like on the wall to the left ... its blurry and then turns sharp for its whole lenght ...
i know its amlost impossible to fake that but as you seem to like challenges ...

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

Because it's the focus of this clip, it can seem a bit dodgy but in the midst of the action, I think it would blend in more than well enough!

 

[RabidJester]

Whaaaat? Surely the Source engine can support the combination of various render to textures and post-processing pixel shaders required for DOF blur!

I must have phrased it incorrectly. I meant it doesn't have it built in yet.

From Yahn Bernier:

The engine doesn't have depth of field right now, so you'd have to do it
using standard compositing techniques. The combine camera is just a FOV
change.

Yahn

So maybe sometime. I think there are bigger things for them to do first.

If your into camera effects then I'd suggest something a little more fun

http://www.dragoncave.freeserve.co.uk/LOTR camera trick.jpg

Maybe Alyx sitting next to a wee hobbity Gman?

Nearly forgot the explaination*

"the old trick of forced perspective, (positioning one actor farther away from the camera than the other), used in Hollywood for years. “The problem with forced perspective… is that traditionally you could not move the camera. If you move the camera, the parallax will give away the gag."

No need to explain. I've seen the extended versions of LoTR. :cheers:

That would be a fun thing to try. Of course, if I can work it out to move entities, I could always try to get some sort of matching going on to keep it steady.

make a movie

Get me faceposer and I will be right on it. It's getting awfully late in the week.

the depth transition doesnt seem smooth enought
like on the wall to the left ... its blurry and then turns sharp for its whole lenght ...
i know its amlost impossible to fake that but as you seem to like challenges ...

This was my biggest gripe. Really, this was a proof of concept. More than anything else, it taught me a lot about scripting events in Hammer, my weakest skill in this biz. It would have been possible to use a mask to slowly transition the blur across the wall. Maybe for the next one.

Because it's the focus of this clip, it can seem a bit dodgy but in the midst of the action, I think it would blend in more than well enough!

I agree. The specific scene was done because it was quick and gave me a good foreground and background object. In the midst of a good action scene, enough should be going on to glaze over any imperfections. Of course, that being said, the ultimate goal would be to not have any imperfections. The whole point of Zero Point is to raise the bar (yeah, yeah, I know) of machinima. I love the work that the scene has done in the past, but to be honest, with the exception of a few standouts like RvB, most don't come anywhere close to resembling the structure or cinematography of real film. Mostly, this is because the tools didn't exist. Well, they do now, and I don't want them to go to waste.


Now, for the next project, how does a fight between Mossman and Alyx sound?

 

[TrevorGrigg]

You should have these two people talking with a blurry window in between them. Then as they are conversing, fade from them to the window, revealing a young boy and his sled.

 

[RabidJester]

You should have these two people talking with a blurry window in between them. Then as they are conversing, fade from them to the window, revealing a young boy and his sled.

I was thinking about one where a young Senator goes to Washington and talks forever.