Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Posted by: Rory Cooper

Date:7/14/2010 11:57:31 PM

What is the tilt shift effect? Can you give a visual or description?

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: DGates

Date:7/14/2010 11:58:38 PM

2 tracks, one normal, the other blurry. Use the cookie cutter tool to create the section you want in focus.

But it won't look anything close to a real tilt-shift. Those things can look downright magical.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: DGates

Date:7/15/2010 12:04:10 AM

"What is the tilt shift effect? Can you give a visual or description?"

It's a special lens that shifts and tilts to create a unique look.



And the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkrtYRxGyuo

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: subchaz

Date:7/15/2010 3:14:05 AM

Hi check out newblue fx they do rack focus which kinda works the same way,
plus they do free demos which last for while

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Rory Cooper

Date:7/15/2010 5:00:24 AM

That’s amazing it has this overemphasized perspective with a dof

I’ve seen this before now I get the bathtub ref

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 5:20:37 AM

You can also achieve this effect with Magic Bullet Looks.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: farss

Date:7/15/2010 5:37:29 AM

There's a whole series of them done in my home city, Sydney. The effect is quite dramatic. Using a title shift lens in conjunction with the jerky motion of timelapse creates the illusion that what you're seeing is stop frame animation of tiny models.

There really is only one way to do this and that's to use a tilt shift lens. Not only can it create a faux depth of field it also alters the perspective. The effect works best when the shots are taken from a high vantage point.

You can see more of this at http://keithloutit.com/

Personally I think his earlier piece is more effective: http://vimeo.com/1831024

Bob.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 6:21:31 AM

Bob, there really is more than one way to this...

Sample one

Sample two

When it's done right, it would be impossible to tell which was which.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: farss

Date:7/15/2010 7:19:35 AM

I'm not convinced either way actually.
Looking at many videos even with a tilt shift lens it might not work so well. There's one shot in Bathtub II that works extremely well because he's used a slow shutter speed which removes the waves, it really looks like water in a bathrub i.e. a minature set. Another shot in the same video is different, you can see the waves and it's not quite as convincing.

I certainly agree that there's some efforts done in post which fall way short of the mark. Just how much work it'd take to get the whole thing right in post is an interesting question. Those Canon tilt shift lenses are not that expensive. We've considered buying a one as we've had a few enquiries about renting them. Compared to some of the other Canon glass they're cheap.

Of course the biggest darn problem now is everyone wants to do it.
I think the way to make your mark in this game is to think about what the next fad will be. Maybe I should invest in split diopters for when clients want shots with infinite DOF :)

Has the ad for Lego shown in the USA using this tilt shift lens trick?
Apart from the shock and awe value of the first few the guy did over a year ago that's the first real use of seen made of the effect.

Bob.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 7:45:45 AM

"Of course the biggest darn problem now is everyone wants to do it."

That's a good point. The question is "Why?" Yeah, it's a "neat trick," but where would it be used? And once it's done... It's like the movie a couple of years that turned the whole film into a cartoon (can't recall the title). Then an investment company here in the U.S. used it for their commercials, providing a "so what" response. Tricks and effects are cool, but they don't wear well.

Something applies here, I think.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: TheHappyFriar

Date:7/15/2010 8:30:43 AM

I think it was "Donnie Darko" that turned the whole movie in to a cartoon. But that's different: not everybody does that (maybe to much work?). And NOBODY does anything like Roger Rabbit. :D

A year or two ago there was some neat AE text effect with the text being popped, fallen, thrown, etc. on screen & the camera "moving" around the text to look like it's a neat transcription.

Not long after that was first discussed here, it was on broadcast. Now it's everywhere, it's annoying. It's the next "super-wipe effect!". :(

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 9:03:54 AM

My daughter just walked in... I asked her the name of the movie... The one I was thinking of A Scanner Darkly.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpGaOqb2Z8


P.S. And the TV commercials were the Charles Schwab "Talk to Chuck" ads. Wore the effect out totally.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: TheHappyFriar

Date:7/15/2010 9:39:44 AM

My mistake, I was thinking of the same movie, just got the name wrong.

I looked @ the price of one of those lenses. ~1/3rd my minivan, for the cheapest one. :)

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 9:51:34 AM

Yeah, $399 for MBL doesn't look so bad!

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: BobF

Date:7/15/2010 11:18:00 AM

You can do it in Photoshop. Apply a mirrored gradient then add a blur to the gradient.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: DGates

Date:7/15/2010 12:45:43 PM

That actually looks pretty good, Jay. It's not quite there, but decent enough.

Subject:RE: Tilt shift effect in Vegas?

Reply by: Jay Gladwell

Date:7/15/2010 12:53:20 PM

Agreed, the lens works better, but for "low budget" gigs, MBL is more than adequate.

As Bob said, it's really a combination of things that sells the effect. Subject matter, for one, plays an important part in the effect. So in the right hands, I think most viewers would be hard pressed to tell the difference.