Apple Motion 4 - Manual (Page 1215)

Note: Certain complex objects will not be affected by depth of field settings. These objects
include local 3D text, paint, particles and replicators. The objects in these groups will
likely be spread out along the z axis, but the camera cannot measure their relative depth
and thus cannot accurately render depth of field. The entire object will be rendered with
a constant level of blur.
Depth of Field Controls
Depth of Field settings are found in the Camera tab of the Inspector. By default, cameras
view all objects in focus, regardless of their distance. The Depth of Field controls allow
you to set a range of focus by changing the Near Focus and Far Focus parameters. Objects
outside that range will be blurred. You can also modify the type and amount of blur used
to render the out-of-focus effect.
DOF Blur Amount: A slider to control the maximum amount of blur applied to out-of-focus
objects.
Focus Offset: A slider to set the distance from the camera that will be in perfect focus.
Near Focus: A slider to set the nearest point of focus, measured in pixels as an offset
from the focal distance.
Far Focus: A slider to set the farthest point of focus, measured in pixels as an offset from
the focal distance.
Infinite Focus: Selecting this checkbox sets the far focus to infinity, overriding whatever
setting is chosen in the Far Focus slider.
Filter: A pop-up menu to set the type of blur algorithm used to render the out-of-focus
areas. Choices include: Gaussian or Defocus. The Defocus setting renders a more realistic
effect, but may impact performance. For best results, use Gaussian when setting up a
scene, and Defocus for final output.
Filter Shape: When the Filter pop-up menu is set to Defocus, use this pop-up menu to
choose between a disk-shaped, or polygon-shaped render kernel. Different shapes will
produce subtly different blur patterns simulating different types of camera lenses.
Sides: When the Filter Shape pop-up menu is set to Polygon, this slider sets the number
of sides in the polygon.
Depth: Pop-up menu to set the depth to Radial or Planar. While radial will typically exhibit
more realistic results there are certain cases where it may look artificial. These include
cases where the camera is set to a high DOF Blur Amount and/or the object is close to
the edge of the frame, the object is very large, the object is rotated and other similar
instances. In these cases, switching to Planar may produce improved results.
Rendering Depth of Field Effects
When depth of field is employed, playback performance may be significantly impacted.
To alleviate this, you can disable the effects of depth of field settings while working on
other aspects of your project.
1215 Chapter 18 3D Compositing