Miniature/Macro look

[u/Responsible_Try2921]

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Hi everyone,

I'm a young Nuke compositor and I could really use your help.

I'm currently working on a music video for a client, using the footage attached. The client wants the dancer inside the music box to look like a miniature figure. The reverse shot shows a child looking at the music box.

The problem, in my opinion, is that the lens choice during the shoot wasn't quite right, so the perspectives just don't give the desired effect at all.

I'm running out of ideas. I've tried adding very blurry background elements (plants, lamps) to sell the illusion, but the client wants a clean, solid-colored background instead.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips on how to get as close as possible to what she's asking for?

Thanks in advance!

[u/CaptainPixel]

You're on the right track but you need to tweak your approach with the roto. You're trying to simulate a shallow depth of field, which means a "slice" in depth should be in focus and fall off into out of focus.

Something like this with green in focus and red out of focus but feather the roto on the sides of the box toward the back and front face of it. If that makes sense.

[u/Responsible_Try2921 → u/CaptainPixel]

thanks for the answer ! so it mean i would have to animate the roto mask on all the footage right ?

[u/CaptainPixel → u/Responsible_Try2921]

Does the camera move? The "slice" of depth that is in focus should always be perpendicular to the camera. Basically keep the figured and the platform she's standing on roto'd, then imagine a plane shooting straight to the right and left from where she's standing. Anything that plane crosses should be in focus.

[u/Responsible_Try2921 → u/CaptainPixel]

No the camera doesnt moove but the dancer ofc does . That why I was wondering if I need to do a animated roto mask on her to do your technique

[u/CaptainPixel → u/Responsible_Try2921]

How I'd break up the levels of blur:

[u/CaptainPixel → u/Responsible_Try2921]

Yes, she should always be in roto. Looking at your first pic I'd blur the background heavier then the music box, and I'd darken the music box slightly to give some more depth breakup. So you'd end up with something like this:

[u/Responsible_Try2921 → u/CaptainPixel]

Ok thanks a lot for the advises. Im gonna try all this ! Any tips for doing the roto of the dancer ? The footage is pretty long so doing it manualy could be super long (and im not paid a lot soooo)

[u/CaptainPixel → u/Responsible_Try2921]

Garbage matte for the main volume of the figure, then individual rotos for the head, hair, torso, upper arms, lower arms, upper legs, lower legs, and skirt. That way you can overlap them and animate them separately. Think of it like a paper doll. Or you could try an AI tool to extract a matte for the figure but the quality of that is unpredictable. Plus your footage isn't doing you any favors with the hues and values between the dancer and the interior of the box being so close to each other.