Skip to content
Disguise User Guide

Depth of Field Workflow

Depth of Field Using a Blur Layer and Depth Map

Section titled “Depth of Field Using a Blur Layer and Depth Map”

This guide provides the direct steps to set up depth-based blur on 2D content using a depth map and the Blur layer in Disguise Designer.

Example 1 Example 2 Example images

Author: Milo Hancock

Workflow

Section titled “Workflow”

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • RGB content (video/still) imported into Disguise.
  • Corresponding Depth Map content (video/still) imported into Disguise.

1. Create 2 Pre-Comp Textures

Section titled “1. Create 2 Pre-Comp Textures”

Also see the PreComp page.

  1. Create a Bitmap Layer
  2. Open up the Media drop down, open the Texture window.
  3. Create a PreCompTexture (e.g. precomp_rgb).
  4. Set the PreCompTexture Size/Resolution to the Source content Resolution.
  5. Create a second PreCompTexture (e.g. precomp_depth).
  6. Set the PreCompTexture Size/Resolution to the Source content Resolution.
  7. You can now delete the Bitmap Layer.

Precomp image Precomp image

2. Create Video Layers

Section titled “2. Create Video Layers”
  1. Add a Video Layer for your RGB content. Assign the RGB media.
  2. Set the Mapping to precomp_rgb.
  3. Add a second Video Layer for your Depth Map content. Assign the Depth Map media.
  4. Set the Mapping to precomp_depth.

Video layers Video layers

3. Configure Depth Map Layer

Section titled “3. Configure Depth Map Layer”
  1. Select the Depth Map Video Layer.
  2. Go to its Colour Shift settings.
  3. Invert the colours so close objects are black and far objects are white. Use RGB controls to invert.
    • RGB controlled: Together
    • Red minimum 1.0
    • Red maximum 0.0
  4. Adjust Brightness/Contrast in the Colour settings to fine-tune the blur falloff.
    • Brightness (shift) - Controls the ‘distance’ of the blur
    • Contrast (scale) - Controls the size of the min-max blur
  5. Fine-tuning the brightness/contrast of the depth map is essential to achieve the desired look and requires artistic judgment.

alt text Depth Colour Shift

4. Apply and Configure Blur Layer

Section titled “4. Apply and Configure Blur Layer”
  1. Add a Blur Layer effect to your timeline.
  2. Creating Mapping (e.g., Direct, Spherical, etc.)
  3. Set Source Texture to precomp_rgb.
  4. Set Mask Texture to precomp_depth.
  5. Adjust the Blur Layer’s Radius parameter to control the maximum blur for the ‘furthest’ elements.

Blur layer Blur layer

Result

Section titled “Result”

The RGB content will now have blur applied based on the depth map, with the amount controlled by the Blur Layer settings and the depth map’s contrast/brightness adjustments.