DOF PRO - Batch / Animation Gallery

Below are various batch / animation examples produced with DOF PRO v3.0. Most of the animation sequences below are straight output from DOF PRO and have not been edited / processed in any way. Others, have slight processing done to them in order to enhance their visual appeal. If any processing has occurred, it will be stated in the explanation box. All sequences and images however, have been compressed for internet display which leads to some visible JPEG / MOV artefacting. In most cases, the DOF has been exaggerated for clarity. However, in real-world examples you would want to minimize the amount of DOF as well as know when and what circumstances to use it in. The first thing you will notice is that the Depth Map does not reflect the focal point shown in the DOF image - remember, in a focus map white represents objects in focus, black objects defocused, although not necessarily in a Depth Map. This is one of the most powerful features of DOF PRO. You have the capability to selectively change the focal point based on the original, source Depth Map (shown below). Most of the following images were created by myself for the gallery and were rendered with VRay 1.47.03 using 3dsmax 6.0. The Depth Maps were either generated using 3dsmax's scanline renderer, using the fog features in 3dsmax, or custom made by hand in After Effects for all the live action sequences. Clicking on an image will launch a full-sized preview in a pop-up window so please make sure you have pop-up blockers disabled.

Please click here to see DOF PRO user samples in the forum gallery.


	This first "Toyota Matrix" sequence is a good example of how to create a custom animated depth map sequence for live action batch / animation processing. In this case, the vehicles were masked in After Effects and appropriate depth maps were generated for controlling the DOF effect.


	This second "Toyota Matrix" sequence is a good example of how you can use DOF PRO's built in gradient features to generate a depth map for you. In this case, the result is more of a creative effect as opposed to a real world example although nevertheless unique. Since the radial gradient is built into DOF PRO, no depth maps were required for this sequence.


	This third "Toyota Matrix" sequence is another good example of how to create a custom animated depth map sequence for live action batch / animation processing. In this case, the vehicles were masked in After Effects and appropriate depth maps were generated for controlling the DOF effect.

This "Can" sequence demonstrates DOF PRO's practical use for batch / animation purposes. This is a perfect example in which adding a subtle amount of depth of field can visually enhance a sequence and create an effective illusion of depth. These are basic DOF PRO settings without any edge management, no depth map adjustment and minimal highlight enhancement. One particularly impressive aspect of this scene is the ground plane which takes on a considerable amount of defocusing and still manages to perfectly maintain the can's unfocused contact edge in the distance.

This "Grass" sequence demonstrates DOF PRO's ability to handle extremely complex scenes - literally thousands of blades of grass with water droplets on them (for Bokeh highlights), combined with moving particle effects and camera motion. The edge management tools were used in order to minimize edge artefacting. The particle effects were generated within the depth map sequence in order to derive their corresponding depth within the scene. This sequence has volumetric post processing effects added to it.


	This "Tunnel" sequence is over 600 frames long and serves as a good example for DOF PRO's ability to handle long sequences, combined with equally long depth map sequences. DOF PRO has already been tested successfully with sequences in excess of several thousand frames. As with most depth maps, these were non-destructively edited within DOF PRO in order to control the wide DOF range.


	This "Cubes" sequence was created for demonstrating DOF PRO's ability to reliably handle a large number of objects through the use of depth maps. Once again, the depth maps were non-destructively edited within DOF PRO in order to control the narrow DOF range. Because motion blur does not render correctly with any post DOF filters, this sequence was rendered without it.


	This "Spheres" sequence was originally created to highlight DOF PRO's Bokeh effects but also proved to be a great example for demonstrating DOF PRO's high quality, artefact-free output. Once again, because motion blur does not render correctly with any post DOF filters, this sequence was rendered without it.


	For this final "Chess" image, we decided to create a sweep-focus on our popular demo scene. This effect is very easy to produce with DOF PRO's keyframing features.