Popular Post rockliffe Posted December 1, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2021 (edited) I'm sure for many this little gripe of mine will have gone unnoticed, or perhaps disregarded, but for others who share my observation, I can say I find it extremely irritating. I'm talking about devs who release a video of their new airport, which may be a great video, but the producer has used an overly used technique of using a shallow depth of field on many of the shots. This seems to be very fashionable, but from my perspective I find it very distracting. I don't know what others feel, but I want to see the airport in all it's glory, I don't want to see aspects which are clearly out of focus, I want to view the surrounding scenery and all the details such as the cars, the signs and things. Call me pedantic (it wouldn't be the first time ) but this technique IMO is not needed and seems to fulfil the desires of the video maker rather than the scenery developer. Edited December 1, 2021 by rockliffe 8 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renault Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 2 hours ago, rockliffe said: I'm sure for many this little gripe of mine will have gone unnoticed, or perhaps disregarded, but for others who share my observation, I can say I find it extremely irritating. I'm talking about devs who release a video of their new airport, which may be a great video, but the producer has used an overly used technique of using a shallow depth of field on many of the shots. This seems to be very fashionable, but from my perspective I find it very distracting. I don't know what others feel, but I want to see the airport in all it's glory, I don't want to see aspects which are clearly out of focus, I want to view the surrounding scenery and all the details such as the cars, the signs and things. Call me pedantic (it wouldn't be the first time ) but this technique IMO is not needed and seems to fulfil the desires of the video maker rather than the scenery developer. I would agree that the DOF use is often overdone (and not only in promotional videos) and often detracts from the main point of the video/screenshots which is to allow the Developer to showcase their product. I think you make a good point that it is often distracting and perhaps is best solved by a new mantra - "less is more". I want to purchase the product for what it is and what it contains and it is often difficult to discern that when techniques such as these are overused. Cheers Pete 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 10 minutes ago, renault said: I would agree that the DOF use is often overdone (and not only in promotional videos) and often detracts from the main point of the video/screenshots which is to allow the Developer to showcase their product. I think you make a good point that it is often distracting and perhaps is best solved by a new mantra - "less is more". I want to purchase the product for what it is and what it contains and it is often difficult to discern that when techniques such as these are overused. Cheers Pete I'm pleased it's not just me Pete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renault Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 43 minutes ago, rockliffe said: I'm pleased it's not just me Pete! Don't get too excited .... it might only be the two of us ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 Just now, renault said: Don't get too excited .... it might only be the two of us ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodiak73 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 You aren't the only ones, sometimes it seems as though the developer is trying to hide mistakes or be lazy developers just to produce as much sh* t to make as much money as they can regardless of quality(JMO). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kodiak73 said: You aren't the only ones, sometimes it seems as though the developer is trying to hide mistakes or be lazy developers just to produce as much sh* t to make as much money as they can regardless of quality(JMO). Hmm, well, I'm not going to name names, but I bought a small GA airport the other week and noticed some really low resolution models. When I viewed the pics on the product page, those same models were conveniently blurry. Edited December 1, 2021 by rockliffe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greybeard Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 Some of the promotional shots of the latest airports have been so far out of focus that I have opted not to purchase them until such time as I can see them. Also I do very little flying at midnight. This has only become a major problem recently and I have no beef with the other 85 MSFS sceneries I have purchased through Orbx central. Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Harmes Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 While I do not like the DoF effect either, I would be REALLY surprised if a developer actually went out of their way to use it to hide any less than perfect features of a scenery. Sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory to me. More often than not the devs of the scenery are not the same people producing the videos and screenshots. I think it is more as was inferred in the first two posts, an overuse of a new artistic feature. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosqr Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 I totally dislike that too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hunter-Graham Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 A shallow depth of field is often used to separate a subject or object from the rest of it's environment, but yes it certainly can be used to obliterate an unsightly background if that's your motive or you don't have your head around composition ... If you are selling an individual object out of a wider scenery, it kind of makes sense... When it comes to flight simulator scenery though a single object doesn't make the scenery. Yes the individual objects matter, but what matters more is how those objects are placed in relation to other objects and how they combine to create an immersive scenery. In my observations of Air to Air Photographers, Aerial photographers/cinematographers, even Architectural and Landscape photographers over the years, depth of field is rarely, if ever used... It's most common in portraiture and macro photography. Yes, some of the aviation Vloggers use shallow depth of field here and there for Video B-roll, but they are telling a story that spans minutes and rarely does it define the core story line where a crisp and clear image engages the viewer. I think flight simulation promotional material is a combination of Aerial photography and Architectural photography (sometimes landscape photography) for scenery; for aircraft it is Aviation Photography and Air to Air photography. I work as a product photographer, clients don't want shallow depth of field obscuring parts of their product, they want sharpness and detail from front to back. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvdboomen Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 From a photography point of view, it's not right in most cases. Scenery and planes often look like miniatures. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 I think the blurriness might be good in some screenshots posted on here, but if you are promoting a product then it maybe shouldn't be used.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 (edited) On 12/4/2021 at 12:09 PM, bvdboomen said: From a photography point of view, it's not right in most cases. Scenery and planes often look like miniatures. Absolutely. It has been used specifically with that purpose in mind on numerous YouTube videos. IMO it shoujd not be used for promoting a scenery product that is trying to resemble real life as much as possible. Edited December 5, 2021 by rockliffe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 19 hours ago, rockliffe said: Absolutely. It has been used specifically with that purpose in mind on numerous YouTube videos. IMO it shoujd not be used for promoting a scenery product that is trying to resemble real life as much as possible. great video there, so many places I see daily, makes home look more like toy town.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvdboomen Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 A great example of lensbaby footage Howard! It is done with something like this: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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