Multiplane camera increments - what do the numbers represent ?
Posted: 11 Jul 2023, 22:53
Over the years I've made my peace with TVPaint's Multiplane Camera . It's a bit of a beast , but with patience the beast can be (mostly) tamed. (I still hope improvements can be introduced in future versions, taking into account much of the feedback and ideas posted by users).
I'm currently trying to explain the use of the Multiplane Camera to a student and I was asked a question about something that I confess I've never fully understood , so I'm hoping someone from TVPaint (or someone else who understands it) can provide an answer. I know how I use the multiplane camera tool in my own peculiar way of working, but it's difficult to explain it to someone who hasn't used it before and wonders: "what exactly do these settings mean ?" (and how can they find out ? )
What do the increments represent in the Z-space ? How would you describe it to someone just starting to learn to use the Multiplane Camera tool ? By default the Multiplane "Wizard" will assign each selected plane a position separated by increments of 100. The question someone may ask is: 100 what ? Do the numbers represent any equivalent distance in the real world like meters or feet ? If I place objects on planes that are separated by a distance of 100 between them (so , let's say one plane is at -100 and the other is at -200 , what does that distance mean ? )
(I suppose the answer is 100 pixels apart (?) but is there a better way to relate that to real world distances, so people learning to
use this tool can better understand how to position the distance of the planes relative to one another ?)
Usually I just arrange my planes by "eyeballing" what looks right to me in terms of the perceived distance between each plane. But if there was a more precise way of calculating how far apart I should place each plane that would be useful. I have developed as sort of intuition about how far apart I should place the planes , but I find that I can't really explain how I do it with any sort of logic when I'm describing it to someone who is trying to learn how to use the Multiplane Camera tool. In this example , I have five planes. The first one is positioned at -50 (from 0) , the next is at -195, the next is at -220 , then -500, finally -1000. Do these numbers have any "real world" equivalents that would convert to meters or feet ?
Also, in the Multiplane Camera, the setting for "Field of View' -- does that represent the same value that you would use in traditional photography when determining a camera lens' "field of view" ?
In the future I would love to see TVPaint's multiplane camera have settings that can be adjusted by seting the Lens length (in mm) and the f-stop/aperture setting, to get more predictable results with simulating Depth of Field, like the camera settings in After Effects. It makes a difference to the depth of field if I'm setting up a shot with a camera that has a 25mm lens vs. a 100 mm lens and the f-stop is f 2.8. vs. f 11 . I don't really understand the logic of TVPaint's "Depth of Field" setting because it has no reference to real world lens settings used for photography/cinematography, at least not as I understand it (which is not a lot).
AE camera has depth-of-field settings that are equivalent to lens length and aperture (f-stop) settings on real cameras. For anyone who even a small amount of knowledge about photography these numbers are useful for knowing how the perceived depth-of-field will be affected.
I'm currently trying to explain the use of the Multiplane Camera to a student and I was asked a question about something that I confess I've never fully understood , so I'm hoping someone from TVPaint (or someone else who understands it) can provide an answer. I know how I use the multiplane camera tool in my own peculiar way of working, but it's difficult to explain it to someone who hasn't used it before and wonders: "what exactly do these settings mean ?" (and how can they find out ? )
What do the increments represent in the Z-space ? How would you describe it to someone just starting to learn to use the Multiplane Camera tool ? By default the Multiplane "Wizard" will assign each selected plane a position separated by increments of 100. The question someone may ask is: 100 what ? Do the numbers represent any equivalent distance in the real world like meters or feet ? If I place objects on planes that are separated by a distance of 100 between them (so , let's say one plane is at -100 and the other is at -200 , what does that distance mean ? )
use this tool can better understand how to position the distance of the planes relative to one another ?)
Usually I just arrange my planes by "eyeballing" what looks right to me in terms of the perceived distance between each plane. But if there was a more precise way of calculating how far apart I should place each plane that would be useful. I have developed as sort of intuition about how far apart I should place the planes , but I find that I can't really explain how I do it with any sort of logic when I'm describing it to someone who is trying to learn how to use the Multiplane Camera tool. In this example , I have five planes. The first one is positioned at -50 (from 0) , the next is at -195, the next is at -220 , then -500, finally -1000. Do these numbers have any "real world" equivalents that would convert to meters or feet ?
Also, in the Multiplane Camera, the setting for "Field of View' -- does that represent the same value that you would use in traditional photography when determining a camera lens' "field of view" ?
In the future I would love to see TVPaint's multiplane camera have settings that can be adjusted by seting the Lens length (in mm) and the f-stop/aperture setting, to get more predictable results with simulating Depth of Field, like the camera settings in After Effects. It makes a difference to the depth of field if I'm setting up a shot with a camera that has a 25mm lens vs. a 100 mm lens and the f-stop is f 2.8. vs. f 11 . I don't really understand the logic of TVPaint's "Depth of Field" setting because it has no reference to real world lens settings used for photography/cinematography, at least not as I understand it (which is not a lot).
AE camera has depth-of-field settings that are equivalent to lens length and aperture (f-stop) settings on real cameras. For anyone who even a small amount of knowledge about photography these numbers are useful for knowing how the perceived depth-of-field will be affected.