The depth map is an incredibly powerful masking tool for all sorts of VFX shots in Fusion.
This effect is one of DaVinci Resolve’s neural engine poweered tools that analyzes and image and does some pretty good guessing to detect the foreground and background of an image.
You can use that data as a mask to blur things that are far away, grade the foreground, or combine with other masks.
My favorite item from the video is translating it into Z-Channel data to be used with creating some great atmospheric effects with Fusion’s fog tool.
In this video from VFXstudy, you’ll learn about:
- 00:00 – What is a Depth Map
- 01:06 – Studio Version
- 02:20 – Using the Depth Map Tool
- 06:17 – Improve performance with Map Adjustment Macro
- 10:07 – Depth Isolation
- 11:22 – Using Z-Channel with Fog Tool
- 13:49 – Limits of Depth Blur
- 15:14 – Manually updating with Polygons
- 18:34 – Gradient with y-Tracking Only
- 22:26 – Depth Map from Magic Mask
- 25:39 – Depth Map for a Photograph
Gedaly is the Founder and Lead Educator of DVResolve.com and is Blackmagic Design Certified Master Trainer. He’s edited commercials for major brands and has done color & VFX for independent films. He consults on post-production workflow and creating online education. Gedaly is the co-founder of Working.Actor, a former marketing manager for large brands, and creates original film projects with his production company Razee.