Create an Environment

Create an Environment

To re-create depth cues in a shot from scratch, you must
somehow separate the shot into planes of distance. If the
source imagery is computer-generated, the 3D program
that created it can also generate a depth map for you to
use. If not, you can slice the image into planes of distance,
or you can make your own depth map to weight the distance
of the objects in frame.

There are several ways in which a depth map can be used,
but the simplest approach is probably to apply it to an
adjustment layer as a Luma (or Luma Inverted) Matte,
and then add Levels or other color correction adjustment
to the adjustment layer. Depth cueing would be applied
to the furthest elements, so applying this matte as a Luma
Inverted Matte and then fl ashing the blacks (raising the
Output Black level in Levels) adds the effect of atmosphere
on the scene.

Depth data may also be rendered and stored in an RPF fi le,
as  (which is taken from an example included
on the disc as part of 13_multipass.aep). RPF fi les are in
some ways crude, lacking even thresholding in the edges
(let alone higher bit depths), but they can contain several
types of 3D data, as are listed in the 3D Channel menu.
This data can be used directly by a few effects to simulate
3D, including Particle Playground, which accepts RPF data
as an infl uence map.
More extreme conditions may demand actual 3D particles,
which are saved for later in the chapter.