blur background while keeping person in focus

tdsilk wrote on 9/24/2014, 11:08 AM
Hello,

I have sony vegas 10 and 11. Can get 13 if it helps. I'm editing wedding footage where the bride walks down the isle alone. I would like to keep her in focus while putting a slight blur on the background. I'm currently able to get pretty close to the effect using masking, but wanted to know if there is an easier way? By the way, I currently use 2 layers (top layer in focus and the 2nd blurred) with a mask around the bride. The problem is keeping the mask tight around the bride while her movements change. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Troy

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/24/2014, 11:33 AM
Vegas does not have motion tracking built in.
That's what you need to keep your blur locked to subject movement.
There are plugins for Vegas available, and can run into the $100s.
Tech Diver wrote on 9/24/2014, 12:04 PM
You would need to rotoscope the bride. You could try doing it by hand (adjust points on a mask every few frames), but this rarely looks good. Rotoscoping is normally done with tracking tools such as mocha Pro, a very high-end (i.e. expensive) product. Here is how mocha does it: http://www.imagineersystems.com/videos/advanced-roto-masking-quick-look .

The bottom line is that there is no easy way to do it without investing in some tools.

Peter
tdsilk wrote on 9/24/2014, 1:05 PM
okay. Thank you!
DrLumen wrote on 9/24/2014, 1:17 PM
If the camera is locked down you could try using difference masking. Hopefully you have a shot without the bride.

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[r]Evolution wrote on 9/24/2014, 7:24 PM
Shoot it that way.
astar wrote on 9/25/2014, 4:52 PM
Use 2 layers of video. Bottom layer apply defocus or blur. Top layer use cookie cutter plugin, and animate the cutout to roughly match the subject moves. Apply a fair amount of feather to the cookie cut to hide the effect.