ENDA Episode 113→ The time when ENDA shares the importance of depth of field (Part 4)
Every plate, not just your footage but your CG renders, bears a “sensor stamp.” Drop a deep-focus render into a shallow-focus plate and the eye calls it out instantly.
In our last update, we saw how subject distance tweaks your focus band. Today, we arrive at our final variable: sensor size.
A larger sensor (think full-frame or VistaVision) captures wider light angles, naturally yielding a shallower DoF, ideal for cinematic separation of subject and background. Conversely, smaller sensors (micro-four-thirds, Super 16 mm, even smartphone cameras) cram more into focus, creating a deeper DoF that keeps foreground and background equally sharp.
Why does this matter in compositing? Every plate, not just your footage but your CG renders, bears a “sensor stamp.” Drop a deep-focus render into a shallow-focus plate and the eye calls it out instantly. That’s why analyzing your plate’s DoF early, before any comp work, can save you countless hours down the line.
We’ve now covered all four DoF variables, but theory alone won’t get the job done. Next episode, we’ll translate these concepts into practical Nuke workflows to match any plate’s focus signature.
So… stay tuned!
The journey continues…
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