… for Apple Motion

Tip #495: Use Gradient Blur to Imply Depth-of-Field

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Gradient Blur simulates depth-of-field by varying the amount of blur in the frame.

One of the challenges in using cell phone cameras is that too much of the image is in-focus. The amount of the image that’s in-focus is called “depth-of-field.”
We use depth-of-field to control where the eye looks first in the frame.

When lots of the image is in-focus, we say depth-of-field is deep. When only a small portion of the frame is in-focus, we say depth-of-field is shallow. (And, um, when none of the image is in-focus, we say the image is blurry.)

We can simulate a shallow depth-of-field in Motion using the Gradient Blur. (See screen shot.)

• Apply Filters > Blur > Gradient Blur to a clip.
• Drag the white dot to the area you want to stay in-focus.
• Drag the black dot to the area you want to blur.
• Adjust the settings in the Inspector to create the look you want.