How to get Bokeh effect and Depth of filed together

Hi Everyone,
I have a query regarding Z depth . i am using frischluft lenscare in Eyeon Fusion .which give nice bokeh (blur)..but when i put Zdepth pass in lenscare depth node i don’t get proper depth of field..lenscare is not taking the depth information from depth pass ..it blurs the whole scene uniformly…I have tried Maya’s iff Z depth pass (RGBAZ)…Luminance pass, separate mental ray Depth pass(zt)…but couldn’t get the desire result…I need bokeh effect ,as well as depth in scene.

1.Is there any other plugin which give both bokeh effect and depth.

2.which is best way to render Z depth pass in Maya.

3. should i render each object separately according to the distance from camera and blur each layer manually to achieve the depth of field…(quite laborious).

Please suggest me the best solution….i will be very grateful to you..

looking for a new laptop… which one?

Here’s the deal.

I’m looking for a new laptop but i just dont know which one.

This is what im looking for:

17" Glossy Screen (best if 1080p or 1200p)
NumberPad on the side of the keyboard is a must!!
Must be able to run at LEAST 4g, of course more is welcome
Should be able to hold 2 hard drives.. optional though..
Dvd burner of course but NO blueray! I dont use it and that will save me a few bucks.
Decent processor.. intel core 2 duo and up.
GPU, i would like nvidia, i’ve always had nvidia and for 3d work i believe its better, right?

My past 2 laptops have been HP, all with 17" screens and i will NEVER buy HP again… Both of them have burnt screens and always just a month after the warranty expires, the way it should be right? lol So anything but HP…

I was looking into alienware since their prices have lowered considerably and since im not looking to max it out i think i can get a pretty good deal. The thing is they are only offering their 17 inch model with ATI video card :S

I will be doing compositing and 3d work…

Help me out picking s good notebook.

Alex

News about the pan and zoom shortcuts ?

I searched the forum and I found questions and answers about the same subject but they are 2 years old.

Any news on that ? Is it possible now to remap the Pan shortcut ?

For example – MMB for pan
or Space and LMB like in Photoshop

Also Space for Play instead of the L key .

I know about the Menu.py but it seems you cannot change mouse buttons and/or Space key there.

confusing on script language

hi there
I want to learn a script language but i couldn t decide on a script..what do you recommend for future because it takes long time to learn that s why i don t want trouble in future.which script language is consistent with after effects,maya,nuke..if i learn which script language i will have experience on maya,nuke,after effects or another programs..i want to write script on animation by maya..
thank you..

Where the Wild Things are – Release October 16

I am dead excited to see this movie and thought I would share it with those who are not yet familiar with it.

Go watch the trailer… The official "Where the Wild Things Are" Site.

“Terminator Salvation” – May 2009 Release

[NEWS=”http://www.cgnews.com/wp-content/uploads/term_nurse_thumb.jpg”]19919[/NEWS]“Terminator Salvation” is set in post-apocalyptic 2018, where John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future that Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

The highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, “Terminator Salvation” is directed by McG (”Charlie’s Angels,” “We Are Marshall”). The screenplay is by Michael Ferris & John Brancato. Moritz Borman, Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek and Jeffrey Silver are the producers, with Jeanne Allgood, Dan Lin, Mario F. Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna and Joel B. Michaels serving as executive producers.

Wishing to avoid comparisons with the Transformers franchise, McG has stated “Transformers is an excellent movie, but our film is not about big robots. I wanted it to have lots of hardware and velocity, but I didn’t want to hang the whole movie on it.”

Visual Effects for the movie were undertaken by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), with Asylum fx and Rising Sun Pictures bringing their skills to various sequences.

In addition to the brilliant CG work generated for ‘Terminator Salvation’, McG contracted Stan Winston studios to create real life models of some of the terminator characters that the human cast could interact with. Stan Winston, the special effects pioneer who designed the original Terminator endoskeleton, worked on Terminator Salvation prior to his death in June this year. McG intends to dedicate the moive to Winston’s memory.

The film stars Christian Bale as John Connor (”The Dark Knight”), Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright (”The Great Raid”), Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese (”Star Trek”), Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor (”Spider-Man 3″), Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams (”What Just Happened?”), Common as Barnes, (”Wanted”), Jane Alexander as Virginia (”The Unborn”), Jadagrace as Star and Helena Bonham Carter as Serena Kogen (”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”)

“Terminator Salvation” will be released in the U.S. on May 21, 2009 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Sony Pictures Releasing International is distributing the film in most international territories between May 2009 and June 2009.

CREDITS:
Director: McG
Screenplay:Michael Ferris & John Brancato
Producers: Moritz Borman, Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek and Jeffrey Silver
Executive producers: Jeanne Allgood, Dan Lin, Mario F. Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna and Joel B. Michaels
Cinematographer: Shane Hurlbut
Production designer: Martin Laing
Editor: Conrad Buff
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Visual effects supervisor: Charlie Gibson
Animatronics supervisor: John Rosengrant
Music:Danny Elfman

SOURCES & RELATED LINKS:
www.sonypictures.net/movies/terminatorsalvation
http://terminatorsalvation.warnerbros.com
Industrial Light & Magic: www.ilm.com
Rising Sun Pictures: www.rsp.com.au
Asylum fx: www.asylumfx.com

problem in compositing

please sujjest me how to do this:(in after effects , what effect i can use )
as soon as p
thnx for watching and sujjesting

McBess Wood [NSFW]

Superstar Illustrator McBess teamed up with Simon, their mates and the Mill to churn out this gorgeous music video for their own band, The Dead Pirates.

The characters featured are drawn in his signature style and animated flawlessly. They might remind you a bit of the Gorillaz Feel Good Inc. video, which I must say is about the best company to be in. The whole piece is visually beautiful in its reduced colour palette and soft shadows, and at the same time it tells a cool story that ties in with the music perfectly.

Editor’s note: Bits at the end of this video might be deemed not safe for work.

Posted on Motionographer

Hellevator

Hellevator
http://vimeo.com/4683109

This is an animation I’ve been working on in school over the last month. Feel free to critique it, any input is greatly appreciated. The story is about Spicoli, your average pizza delivery guy, taking his next delivery to an unknown place. He has to take an elevator to floor "666"….

LCd and ctr monitors

Hi guys i have good ctr monitor that i love, but now i am getting in to sound design and i would like to have 1 more monitor but not ctr since they are big in size. If i decide to get a lcd monitor nothing big just so i can see my mix when mixing will i have any problems hawing lcd and ctr together on one video card which supports dual monitors.

Thanks

I have choice between **20.1" LG (L206WTQS) and soyo citrine series wide tfl lcd 20 inch

What should i look at when it comes to lcd is response time important