Camera Blur

Camera Blur

Camera blur, also known as lens blur, results from objects
in a scene falling outside focal range. It has unique characteristics
when compared with an ordinary image blur
operation.
Ironically, although the standard consumer video camera
has a very wide depth of fi eld and rarely produces lens
blur, this is considered a major disadvantage of video to
most fi lmmakers. Narrow focal depth not only produces a
beautiful image one would almost automatically call “cinematic,”
it focuses the viewer’s attention and thus provides
the director with a powerful storytelling tool.
It can be a lot of work to re-create depth of fi eld effects in
After Effects; it’s better to get them in camera if possible.
Nonetheless you can create specifi c cinematic blur effects
such as a rack focus shot, in which the plane of focus shifts
from a subject at one distance to another. This is a device
to create anticipation and change the object of attention
while creating a beautiful aesthetic.
Limited focal range is a natural part of human vision, but
camera lenses contribute their own unique blur characteristics
that in the contemporary era are often considered
aesthetically pleasing the world over. There is even a
Japanese term (literally meaning “fuzzy”) to describe the

quality of out-of-focus light as viewed through a lens, boke
(also bokeh, more phonetic but clunkier).
You can create these effects and more in After Effects,
using a combination of tools built in to the software, thirdparty
tools to support the process, and a careful observation
of optics and nature.