Comments

JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/25/2009, 10:58 AM
One way is to duplicate the track and then use the Mask tool in Pan/Crop to mask out the background on the top track leaving the foreground. Then add a blur to the background that is showing through from the bottom track.

~jr
Grazie wrote on 11/25/2009, 11:41 AM
DrewU2, if you can post a still I'll give it a "once-over" with a view to getting back to you a VEG. Interested?

What version of Vegas are you using?

Grazie
drewU2 wrote on 11/25/2009, 12:30 PM
Here is a screenshot. It was captured at 1920x1200 but the video is obviously 1920x1080.

http://vwm84a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p3Kte86QmBUdYp0yBGtcrqV-TFlLQIXEnM4On4PBibj3JX2yZPcPfmVW2vLUUFXiz9ha7elS-Nz9H4wwDf7orfvu3VB0pgK68/dp%20and%20bk.jpg
xberk wrote on 11/25/2009, 12:32 PM
This is not hard to do just as JohnnyRoy describes. You can "feather" the edges of the mask (top track) so it blends and just apply a gaussian blur effect to background (bottom track). I've done this and it works well...It's not the same as a DOF background blur but it can help direct attention to the foreground.

Paul B .. PCI Express Video Card: EVGA VCX 10G-P5-3885-KL GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA ,,  Intel Core i9-11900K Desktop Processor ,,  MSI Z590-A PRO Desktop Motherboard LGA-1200 ,, 64GB (2X32GB) XPG GAMMIX D45 DDR4 3200MHz 288-Pin SDRAM PC4-25600 Memory .. Seasonic Power Supply SSR-1000FX Focus Plus 1000W ,, Arctic Liquid Freezer II – 360MM .. Fractal Design case ,, Samsung Solid State Drive MZ-V8P1T0B/AM 980 PRO 1TB PCI Express 4 NVMe M.2 ,, Wundiws 10 .. Vegas Pro 19 Edit

johnmeyer wrote on 11/25/2009, 1:17 PM
If it wasn't for those two guys in the front seats in the background, you could use a difference mask:

Cat Demo

I used this to composite someone into the set of American Idol. I assume your camera is locked down. If so, take a snap that includes just the background, if you have it (i.e., before the talent is in frame). You can then use this as the background, blur it to your heart's content, and then composite the talent into the foreground.

More stuff here:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=445576

and here:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=446255
Grazie wrote on 11/25/2009, 4:34 PM
. .or . . another way is to use the "narrative" of it being an interview relating to music/composing/education/pianos (?) so you already have the idea of black and white, simply cut to their upper bodies and make them into talking heads. You could even superimpose their talking heads onto a blurred-out part of the seating as a back drop. Much to do here.

The way I see it:

A] Full Frame of 2 Gents wit distractions as an opener. Look, it WAS there but the meat of the interview is gonna come anyway?

B] Ease this to 2 rectangles of talking heads ( viz "24" ) & have a background of BLACK or even WHITE

The reason I would propose this is that the feather, masking and so on is trying to make that which was, wasn't. What I am saying accept all this and turn it into something else - even BETTER. Really do-able and, for my money, could carry the day.

What you have is a very nicely/well lit scenario being (possibly - actually the BG isn't irritating to me?) confused by the BG. Well, accept all this and move into another place . . .

Grazie

musicvid10 wrote on 11/25/2009, 5:04 PM
I know it won't help this time, but next time use the widest aperture you can and a longer focal length to soften the background.
ushere wrote on 11/25/2009, 6:33 PM
a. what's going on in the b/g that you find so disturbing? does the couple start copulating or something ;-)

b. if what the muso's have to say is interesting no one will be paying any attention to the b/g.
musicvid10 wrote on 11/25/2009, 7:54 PM
If ushere's observations are correct, what is wrong with just applying a slight
(unobtrusive) oval blur to the two guys behind the action who appear to be interested in each other?

I mean, that's exactly what the networks did with the guy dunking the fresh-killed turkey in the pot of hot oil right behind Sarah Palin (It's a wonder they did not first ask her and Cheney to shoot the bird dead in front of the cameras).

Oh, BTW, both cam operators should have been using a wider aperture and longer focal length to blur the background. Every still photog in business on this planet understands this, and it is a wonder to me why videographers do not!

IOW, both videographers should have used a wider aperture. And the use of a stage manager in both shoots who was conscious (?), well that one is a no-brainer!!

'nuff said.
farss wrote on 11/25/2009, 9:53 PM
I'm really with Grazie on this. I have done the masking to blur the BG trick a couple of times. Took forever for just a few seconds of footage, probably a bit trickier than this shot as it was a closeup of a trumpeter and he was waving it around a bit and muggins me was zooming in as well. Still, doing it to more than a few seconds of footage would be painful and I'll bet those two speakera do not sit still and bad masking looks HORRIBLE!

In fairness to drewU2, it's easy enough to say get the camera back and the lens longer but it's on a stage and that may not have been possible. Other thing I found out the very hard way, a lot of stages bounce, not good at the long end of the lens, not good even at the short end of the lens either :(

Bob.
musicvid10 wrote on 11/26/2009, 10:22 AM
OK, looking at it this morning my post seems a bit of a rant.
In deference to Bob, many shooters use a wide lens and stay close to the talent because of on-camera mics. I just have grown weary of paying people good money to operate good equipment, and then being given the clueless look when I ask for a shallow DOF.